02 March 2011

Happy Birthday, Regular Guy

Today is one of the happiest days of the year. Today is the Captain's birthday. More importantly, this is the day when the Captain is, once again, the same age as moi.

I was born on December 16, 1964. The Captain was born March 2, 1965. 

I will pause while you make a notation in your datebook.

Okay! So this, technically, makes me the last of the Baby Boomers, and the Captain a ....I don't know what.

I will pause while I Google.

Okay! From Wikipedia:

The term Generation X was used in a 1964 study of British youth by Jane Deverson. Deverson was asked by Woman's Own magazine to interview teenagers of the time. The study revealed a generation of teenagers who "sleep together before they are married, were not taught to believe in God as 'much', dislike the Queen, and don't respect parents." Because of these controversial findings, the piece was deemed unsuitable for the magazine. Deverson, in an attempt to save her research, worked with Hollywood correspondent Charles Hamblett to create a book about the study. Hamblett decided to name it Generation X.[8]
The term was popularized by Canadian author Douglas Coupland's 1991 novel, Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, concerning young adults during the late 1980s and their lifestyles. While Coupland's book helped to popularize the phrase "Generation X," in a 1989 magazine article[9] he erroneously attributed the term to English musician Billy Idol. In fact, Idol had been a member of the punk band Generation X from 1976–1981, which was named after Deverson and Hamblett's 1965 sociology book—a copy of which was owned by Idol's mother.

The irony here is that I am much more a Gen-X-er, and the Captain is definitely a Boomer. He is loyal, and hard-working. He believes in personal responsibility, and giving your best effort. When we met, I was a punker/gothy girl, who listened to Billy Idol, had sex before marriage, and didn't like the Queen. Well, our government, anyway. The Queen seems fairly harmless, and rather strong, what with surviving the blitz and all those crazy family members.

 A few weeks ago, our friend, Maccabee, asked for a quote from a famous letter my brother read at my wedding. I sent it to him shortly after I met the Captain. So, today, to honor the man who has spent the last 25 years being three months younger than me, I give you a glimpse of the beginning.

Dear Brother:

Life alternates between being terrifically boring, and too weird. I'm involved, I guess. With a brother from the house. (Author's note: We were in a co-ed fraternity together) He's really regular. Played ice hockey most of his life. Plays air hockey and beer pong most of his life now. He's like someone I would have dated in high school: normal hair, and listens to 92K-Rock. Can you believe it?

He thinks I'm interesting, and would like to sleep with me. It's pretty convenient, and I'm pretty much assured of the fact that he'll never come over my house and bug me.

So much for  romance.

So, ours is an "opposites attract" love story. And the reason I am writing a romance novel. Because no one who knew us believed we would stay together. But today is another birthday, and another year together!

I know the Captain is no more happy about getting older than I am. But I can say, without hesitation, that I am happy to grow older with him.

Especially when we're the same age again.

19 comments:

  1. Fantastic post, Megan! And happy, happy birthday to your beloved Captain - a regular guy down to the ground and an extraordinary man. Who would have guessed that he would fall madly in love with a frat buddy?

    Maccabee owes you money for posting that letter, doesn't he?

    And Yay, Five!! He's right, you know; you are a pretty good mother.

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  2. Anonymous2.3.11

    Ha ha, you were joking, but I did write down the dates!
    Happy Happy to the Captain, and to you both for making this insanity (by which I do not mean your personal marriage but the reality that is LIFE) work out so well.
    Also, you are most welcome for the late night notes. Having two daughters with a cop dad, we learned way early on what to be careful of as far as safety goes. (And I'm a Virgo, so I can't help but notice shit like this, it's a blessing... and a curse.)
    Lastly, can't wait to read how you did NOT fail Five to Dan tomorrow.
    Julie

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  3. Anonymous2.3.11

    Happy Birthday, Captain!
    I love hearing the stories of how people got together and I definitely like the 'opposites attract' genre...i'm looking forward to reading your novel when it's done :-)

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  4. Very cool!

    Just to steal the spotlight (cuz that's me), as of today, I've been with dh 9 years...ever since the night we watched Die Hard together. Now if that ain't a romance novel moment....oh, wait, it's kind of normal. Nevermind. Anyway, he and I are the same age till the 10th. Then he's older than me again. (3/10/78 and 8/18/78, go mark your calendar)

    Congratulations to you!

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  5. Janet: You are correct. Maccabee should write his $100 check to Megan A. Coakley. He knows my address. I might ask how much he'll pay for me to post the original video.

    Julie: my sister the feng shui-ist is a Virgo. I understand.

    Kris: I am looking forward to having you read it!

    Lora: We are both blessed to have Pisces men in our lives. But you have the better birthday deal.
    P.S.: Four's birthday is 08/19, so yours will be easy to remember.

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  6. Thank you Megan for posting an excerpt from that infamous letter! I remember that moment as being very entertaining, but that's as specific as my memory gets these days, so filling in some of the details is appreciated.

    And Happy Birthday to the captain, of course!

    From your other VIRGO sister ;)

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  7. Please please please post the video. That would be TOO funny. Short of that I would like a copy of it.

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  8. And we (our family) are ETERNALLY grateful to have him in our lives darling, so thank you again for marrying him! I will pass along the birthday greetings myself. (Of course we know he is lucky to have you!)

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  9. You may call me Slacker Virgo. I'm the crazy Virgo relative they keep in the attic so none of the other Virgos have to see how messy and disorganized I am. Which is to say, I noticed, but didn't think to do anything about it.

    Happy birthday to the Captain. And you need to finish that book because, honey, I need to read it.

    Great post!

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  10. Happy Birthday to the Captain! What would we do without him? I never thought about the Boomer/GenX thing, but it is a great point. I, too, am a cusp baby. But, like the Captain, probably more Boomer than GenX. That doesn't mean we're boring, right? Right?!

    @Delia-Slacker Virgo. I like it. I am a similar brand of Virgo. Which means that I may leave a suitcase unpacked for a week, but I hyperventilate if my cleaning lady puts the glasses in the cabinet back in the wrong places.

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  11. Just to round out the Virgo roll call: I'd have to say that I am more a Julia-style Virgo than a Delia/June type. Poor Megan. She is completely surround by us!

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  12. I always forget about the late August Virgos. How did I accumulate so many? Do I send out a Sagittarius signal that sugggests I need you to bring order to my life? Or is the other way around? Do you Virgos need some spontaneity/chaos to lighten up? I forget my sweeping astrological generalizations. Either way, I'm happy to be surrounded!

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  13. Happy Captain's day!

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  14. @June: OMG I know exactly what you mean-"I may leave a suitcase unpacked for a week, but I hyperventilate if my cleaning lady puts the glasses in the cabinet back in the wrong places." And just because I don't unpack the suitcase doesn't mean I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT'S IN IT.

    And doesn't anyone know WHERE the dishes and glasses belong in the cabinet or the dishwasher by now?? Where have they all been living? Just one of my daily virgo frustrations. [it's ok if it's MY mess, but you all better clean up yours LOL]

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  15. A very happy birthday to him!
    On another note, I'm afraid Five's getting soft. ;)

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  16. Meg: I will put the check in the mail, and I will consider your post today a down payment on your obligation to post the rest of the letter. I think I can remember the best line almost verbatim.

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  17. You know all these Virgos are the result of good old fashioned Christmas cheer, right? (At least, that's how it happened with my son. ;) )

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  18. Anonymous3.3.11

    I love Virgo varieties... my sister was born on my third birthday, so we were Virgo squared (with a Leo brother in between).
    I have solved the problem of other people putting the glasses away WRONG - I go back and fix them, because ya know, I wouldn't be able to sleep otherwise.
    Sadly I am a messy OCD Virgo.
    Julie (I feel in such good company here!)

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  19. @Maccabee: I had to watch the tape and transcribe the letter, because Skip has it somewhere in his possession. So, I did edit for brevity/relevance, but I think you are remembering a comment Skip made about a conversation, not an actual part of the letter. And I'll probably save that story for the anniversary blog.

    @Delia: I hadn't thought of it that way. I know I was conceived on St. Patrick's Day, so the celebration idea holds water.

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