My Thanksgiving Birthday

The warm oven gives off the faint smell of roasted turkey. A pumpkin pie cools, waiting to be topped with whipped cream and cinnamon.  Today is Thanksgiving Day, a day to gather with those we love and offer tidings of gratitude for the blessings in our life.

It is also the ninth anniversary of my 29^th birthday.

In my family, the women hold onto their youth, or rather desperately cling onto it for dear life, by forgoing our 30th birthdays to celebrate the anniversary of our 29^th birthdays over and over again. This year mine happens to fall today, Thanksgiving Day.

When I’ve shared with others that my birthday often falls on this nationally celebrated holiday, I receive mixed reactions. Some consider me lucky to have family, friends, and food around to help me celebrate. After all, Thanksgiving Day is one of those holidays that most family members don’t opt out on.

One friend mentioned how lucky I must feel to have a feast for my birthday, until I pointed out to her that I know of no one who orders roasted turkey for their special birthday dinner. Not only that, but my usual contribution to our family Thanksgiving meal is my homemade pumpkin pie, which inevitably shows up in front of me with a candle in it at some point during the meal.

While I appreciate the gesture of recognition, I will eat a piece and secretly wish for prime rib with grilled vegetables followed by a warm chocolate lava cake for dessert.

Then there are those who recognize the dilemma of a birthday falling on one of the largest holidays of the year, and offer words of condolence, as if someone dear to me has just passed away.  I assure them that I am not only person in history whose birthday falls on Thanksgiving. Serial killer Ted Bundy was also born on November 24 in 1946. Thankfully, I adjusted to the holiday/birthday combination much better than he did. He probably didn't indulge in enough pumpkin pie.

Today also happens to be D.B. Cooper Day.  Forty years ago today, an unidentified man hijacked a Boeing 727 aircraft in the airspace between Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. He extorted $200,000 in ransom money before parachuting out of the aircraft.

I attribute his temporary insanity to a possible pumpkin pie shortage in 1971.

Although the FBI conducted an extensive manhunt, he was never positively identified or located. The original airline ticket was purchased under the name of Dan Cooper, but due to a news media miscommunication, he became known as D.B. Cooper.

Something about November 24 and people who are not well-adjusted does cause me some concern, but it's nothing that a second piece of my birthday pumpkin pie won’t solve.

I also note to others that Thanksgiving isn't the worst holiday of year in which to celebrate a birthday. Immediately, most people nod in agreement suggesting Christmas could be far worse, but I offer an alternative.

My dear friend Elena was born on February 29, Leap Day. Her birthday falls on a calendar day once every four years.  Elena takes her birthday in stride pointing out that although she has seen more Thanksgiving Days than I have, she is considerably younger than I am — she's technically only 10 years old.  In addition, it’ll be years, if ever, before she’ll have to celebrate the anniversary of her 29^th birthday.

Thanksgiving Day also overshadows other important obscure holidays, such as Celebrate Your Unique Talent Day, Use Even if the Seal is Broken Day, National Novel Writing Month, International Drum Month, and Peanut Butter Lovers Month. In recognition of these often overlooked holidays, I intend to observe my unique writing talent by composing a novel on top of a drum after eating from a jar of peanut butter even though the seal is broken.

So while I celebrate the ninth anniversary of my 29th birthday on the 40th anniversary of D.B. Cooper’s bold escape, I will give thanks that I am a mostly well-adjusted individual surrounded by family members who love me and that pumpkin pie always seems to make things better.