November 9: What the date say about you

You can expect public recognition in your youth, as well as all the attendant problems of early acclaim.  You aspire to nothing less than the complete fulfillment of all of your dreams.  As a result, you may experience some mood swings.  You tend to have extremes of depression and joy.

You are stimulated by your aspirations.  You are able to break away from early irrational fears as you mature.  In mid-life, you are re-born.  You reach out of your self-absorption to bring a new polish to your accomplishments.

Marriage and a stable family lifestyle are difficult at times, although you love your home, children, and community.  You have an exceptional storehouse of seemingly innate information.  At times you imagine that you remember things that you have never experienced.  One thing is for sure:  You will leave a lasting image, one that people will remember long after you are gone.

Social contact is the answer to your loneliness. In a crowd, with the warmth of surrounding family or with considerate partners, you feel a softening of that sense of isolation or disconnection.  Love or recognition come to you from afar, from swarms of respect for your magnetic personality.

Legal dealings are not always so easy for you.  You would do well to avoid such wrangling.  They may say you are too gullible or they may say you are too skeptical, but in either case, you are unlikely to win. Of course, in and of itself, this is a small problem.  In life, we win some and we lose some.  You, at least, will always be able to live by your wits.

In later years, all debts are paid.  You are soul-satisfied and feel at peace.

The Bigwigs who celebrate this birthday with you
Anne Sexton (1928) Poet.  Her book Live or Die won a 1967 Pulitzer Price

Imre Lakatos (1922) Hungarian Philosopher.  He developed the field of scientific methodology.

Hugh Leonard (1926) Irish Dramatist.  he won a Tony for Da.

Spiro Agnew (1918) Vice President of the United States; noted for his criticism of the liberal establishment and the press, which he once called an "effete corps of impudent snobs," he resigned in 1973 after pleading no contest to charges of income tax evasion.

Florence Chadwick (1917) Swimmer; in 1950 she swam the English Channel in 13 hours and 20 minutes, breaking Gertrude Ederle's record.

Jerome Hines (1921) Opera singer; a leading basso at New York's Metropolitan Opera; it has been reported that in high school he was asked to leave the Glee Club because he couldnt carry a tune!

R. Sargent Shriver (1915) Lawyer; he was the first director of the Peace Corps, from 1961 to 1966

Joe Bouchard (1948) Singer and bass player, he joined the hard-rock group Blue Oyster Cult in 1969

Lou Ferrigno (1952) Actor; the Hulk on "The Incredible Hulk" the 6'5" star has won nearly every major bodybuilding title, including Mr. America, Mr Universe and Mr International.

Tom Weiskopf (1942) Golfer; he has won the British and Canadian Opens and the World Series of Golf

Carl Sagan (1934) Astronomer, author; among his works are The Dragons of Eden, for which he won the 1977 Pulitzer Prize, The Cosmic Connection, Brocca's Brain and Cosmos, based on his highly successful TV series of the same name.

Marian Christy (1932) Syndicated columnist; her "Conversations" column has appeared in over fifty newspapers, and her views on fashion and style have brought her several awards and honors.

Frederick Funston (1865) Military leader: he directed recovery operations following the great San Francisco earthquake in 1906.

"Whitey" Herzog (1931) Baseball outfielder, manager; after a 17-year career as a player, he managed the St. Louis Cardinals to three World Series, winning it in 1982, the same year in which he was voted the National League's Manager of the Year.

Wayne Duke (1928) Sports executive; he became the director of the Big-Ten Athletic Conference in 1971.

Kay Thompson (1913) Author; she wrote the popular children's book Eloise, about an eccentric and independent six-year-old resident of New York's Plaza Hotel.

Ivan Turgenev (1818) Russian author; among his works are Fathers and Sons, Smoke and Torrents of Spring.

Gail Borden (1801) Inventor; an expert surveyor, he also patented evaporated milk and formed a company to manufacture it commercially.

Asa Mahan (1979) College administrator; Oberlin College's first president, he believed in open admissions with no discrimination based on race or sex.

Herbert Kalmus (1881) Inventor; he developed technicolor film, which was first used in Becky Sharp in 1935.

Sally Tompkins (1833) Philantropist; during the Civil War, she maintained a hospital in Richmond, VA, at her own expense and became the only woman commissioned in the Confederate army when Jefferson Davis made her an army captain.

Stanford White (1853) Architect; his designs include the Villard Houses, the Washington Arch, and Madison Square Garden.

Bernard Kilgore (1908) Journalist; he made the Wall Street Journal into a leading publication.

Ed Wynn (1881) Actor, comedian; he won two Emmys, one for his dramatic performance in "Requiem for a Heavyweight," and appeared in the films Mary Poppins and The Diary of Anne Frank.

"Muggsy" Spanier (1906) Jazz musician; noted for his Dixieland coronet, he played with Ted Lewis before forming his own band in the early 1940s.

Peter Drucker (1909) Educator; the originator of the Management by Objective Planning technique (MBO) which involves employees at lower levels in decision making, he wrote about business management in many books including The Frontiers of Management.

Anthony Asquith (1902) Motion picture director; among his credits are The Importance of Being Earnest, The VIPs and The Yellow Rolls Royce.

Claude Rains (1889) Actor; he starred in the films The Invisible Man, the 1943 version of Phantom of the Opera, Casablanca and Hitchcock's Notorious.

At your age...

We routinely spend many hours in such activities as dressing, bathing, eating, walking, traveling, reading, studying, working, and entertaining ourselves. Have you ever thought about the time you spend daily, weekly, monthly, or even over a year doing these things?  Most of us do not realize how those hours mount up to a sizeable portion of our total lives.  You might be surprised.

Throughout our lives, our bodies are also a constant beehive of activity.  They do most important things without our even being consciously aware of them.  Most of these activities protect vital functions, keep us healthy, and even keep us alive. Our hearts beat, we sleep grow new body cells and hair, cough, sneeze, bat our eyes, breathe, and many other things...

In your 20s
You have BLINKED this many times: 94,691,342
You have BREATHED this many times: 120,401,424
You have EATEN this many meals: 22,736
Your heart has BEATEN this many times: 968,643,000
You have SLEPT this many hours: 66,027

In your 40s
You have BLINKED this many times: 195,259,978
You have BREATHED this many times: 240,802,848
You have EATEN this many meals: 44,651
Your heart has BEATEN this many times: 1,757,583,000
You have SLEPT this many hours: 125,270

In your 60s
You have BLINKED this many times: 295,831,786
You have BREATHED this many times: 361,204,272
You have EATEN this many meals: 66,566
Your heart has BEATEN this many times: 2,522,854,800

You have SLEPT this many hours: 184,511

In your 80s
You have BLINKED this many times: 401,043,426
You have BREATHED this many times: 481,605,696
You have EATEN this many meals: 88,481
Your heart has BEATEN this many times: 3,235,530,600

You have SLEPT this many hours: 238,395