Happy Birthday, January! Part II.

The Maundy Monday Newsletter - This Week in History January 6 - 12.

I turn 49 this week. Tomorrow, to be exact.

I recently talked to someone about how my birthday ends the holiday season: Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, and finally, the Day of Perfection. Of course, I have marketed my birthday. This should be no surprise to you.

It’s been so long that I can’t remember when I began referring to it as the Day of Perfection.

Turning 49 feels different.

Is it weird to have a little moment of reflecting on your mortality? I feel like every birthday from now on will have this. I turn 50 in 366 days, and I can honestly say I don’t feel 50. I feel pretty good. However, I also know I am not as healthy as I need to be to live well past 50.

There is so much to look forward to in life, like writing my historical fiction novel, which will be a massive hit once I read all the novels that will inspire it. There’s the Okay History Podcast – I even have the logo:

“Christory” would be the podcast name, but then marketing friends told me it was a terrible idea because it sounded too Christian, even though I am a Christian. They were right, though.

I’m at least 25 years away from running for Congress. Of course, Anonymous and I will have to move to a place that elects Congresspeople because Washington, DC, won’t have representation within the next 25 years.

Just like last year, let’s examine some milestone birthdays for two famous Americans and see what they did when they turned 49.

First, there’s Elvis Pressley. He would have turned 90 on January 8 (Born 1935). What was he doing at 49? Checking the notes, it says he had been dead for seven years. Okay, we will move to the next one.

My favorite historical figure, Alexander Hamilton, will turn 270 on January 11. What was he doing at 49? That would have been 1804.

Oh, the notes here read that Vice President Aaron Burr was shooting him dead.

Okay, well, this has been fun, hasn’t it?

Okay, let's highlight what else happened this week. As a reminder, these events celebrate their anniversary, ending in 5 or 0. Here's what I got:

1. The Battle of New Orleans took place on January 8, 1815. The Second War with England was technically over, if not official. The only good thing about this battle was the song by Johnny Horton. Andrew Jackson was 47 at the time. I’m pretty sure my great, great, great grandfather was named after Jackson.

2. The House of Representatives rejected a proposal to give women the right to vote on January 12, 1915. The United States Senate rejected women’s suffrage a year earlier. However, women finally won five years with the 19^th Amendment to the Constitution. Take that, guys.

3. Amelia Earhart flew solo on January 11, 1935. The pilot took off from Hawaii and landed in California. What a time to be alive when people were flying everywhere. It’s pretty cool to think maybe Earhart flew herself to the voting booth once. I have no idea if she did or not. It could be a good story for a historical fiction novel.

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Today marks four years since my country and neighborhood were attacked. In 2022, I finally wrote about it.

As we inaugurate President Whiny in the coming weeks, we will continue to witness history theft in real time. I saw that the FBI was sending around unreleased video footage of the pipe bomber who was planting bombs in my neighborhood the night before.

What’s wild to me is that four years ago, the FBI, ATF, and Capitol Police all showed me and my neighbors these videos. They were interested in learning who the guy who was walking the dog was. It still pains me that I couldn’t identify the guy or, more importantly, the dog. I’ve come to the conclusion they were visiting.

I can’t believe we haven’t caught this person. They are 5’ 7”, which seems short to me. Four years later, the unthinkable became a reality.

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Anonymous and I will try to see President Jimmy Carter when he lies in state at the Capitol this week. I’m embarrassed to say I have never attended one, even though I have lived here for all these years.

I’m still working on a few series I am launching this year, so please be patient. There won’t be anything this Friday, but I will return next Monday.

Have a great week. If you can, hug someone with a January birthday—especially those of us who turn 49.

Okay,

Chris

Forty-nine years later, I still look tired.