A birthday thought
Happy birthday to me. Yes, I�m 35. It�s coming up to one in the morning, and only a few hours to the moment of my birth, which was 12.17 GMT on the 25th February, 1968. Apparently, it was wet and cold. The weather, that is. Just a few ideas in mind � firstly, all the famous people who were dead by my age. Yes, I know it�s terribly egotistical, but still�.James Dean, Jimmy Hendrix, Janice Joplin, Jim Morrison, Keats, Alexander the bloody Great et al. What about all the unknowns, though? I once heard of a statistic which I�m going to write down here. (Any statisticians, please note that you are free to contradict me)
In the minute that I was born, another ten people also entered the world.
Of us eleven, eight saw the light in third world or developing countries.
Of us eleven, seven died shortly after birth or before hitting the age of five.
Of us eleven, only four had any sort of formal education.
Of us eleven, only two were educated until the age of sixteen,
Of us eleven, only one (namely me) was educated to degree standard.
Of us eleven, only three survived to my current age.
Only two of us have become parents.
Only one of us will survive to the biblical age of three score years and ten.
So, to you, my soul brothers, my soul sisters, to you who were born at 12.17 GMT on 25/2/68, to we who survive this terrible, wonderful, awesome and turbulent world, I wish you a happy birthday, wherever you may be. Sadly, statistically speaking, you will not read this, as I am the only one of the eleven with access to a computer.