They Say It's Your Birthday

I realized something today. For most people, June 18th isn't that special. Few see it as a holiday requiring deep contemplation and reverence. It comes and goes without much notice. This is not the case for me. That's because I am an ardent Paul McCartney fan and today is the sixty-sixth anniversary of his birth*. And while I do not lead the Paul-centric life that my 13-year-old self did, I couldn't let it pass without mentioning it. She would be horrified enough that the first fact people learn about me these days is NOT that Paul is my favorite Beatle or that I went ahead and married somebody else (while Paul was actually SINGLE, no less).

So, for that 13-year-old Kelly, the one who saved up all her babysitting money to buy outrageously priced concert tickets so she could see** her beloved live at her very first concert, the one who checked out every Beatles book in the library and memorized everything (Did you know that Paul's given first name is actually James? Or that his mother, a nurse, was the Mary mentioned in the song, "Let It Be"? That stuff is still rattling around in my brain. Now if only I could call my children by the correct names!), we're having Paul McCartney Day here.

Please share your favorite Paul song (for me, lately, that's "Getting Closer" off the Back to the Egg album. But my sentimental favorite is "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey."). Or your favorite Paul Beatles song ("Hey Jude." Or maybe "Hello, Goodbye." Then again, I do love "I Will." This is like asking me to pick my favorite daughter!). Or your favorite Paul McCartney quote or saying ("Somebody said to me, 'But the Beatles were anti-materialistic.' That's a huge myth. John and I literally used to sit down and say, 'Now, let's write a swimming pool.'''). Let us all celebrate this glorious day.

*I really hope I did that math right. Too many Beatles facts clogging the brain . . .
**See would be kind of an overstatement. We were literally three rows from the very back of the stadium (Folsom Field, Boulder, CO) and even with high powered binoculars, he was a blur. Thank goodness for those huge video screens. And that I got to see him again with better seats about ten years later. Oh, and I forgot to mention, with that first concert, my friend's dad who took us all the way to Boulder, he made us chip in and buy HIS ticket, too. That was a ton of money for a kid. I hope Paul is enjoying his swimming pool.