DEFINTIONS

Gary Coleman died this past week.

"Coleman was born with a congenital kidney disease which stunted his growth at an early age; as a result he is only 4' 8" tall. His height became his most distinguishing feature."

"He (had) congenital kidney disease caused by Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis. A Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis is an autoimmune disease where in there is destruction and alteration of the kidney which causes stunted growth. He had undergone kidney transplant and requires daily dialysis."

 

Yesterday my son-in-law claimed he was distinguished by his height - although in the reverse direction from Gary Coleman - Blake is 6'8".

 

I beg to differ... well, actually I'm not 'begging,' I SHOUT that THIS IS INCORRECT.

 

(Okay, Hope, go back to using an "inside" voice)

 

Some people are known for their physical traits - Andre the Giant wouldn't have gotten much attention if he was not a giant - Willie Shoemaker as an incredible jockey - Wilt Chamberlain would still have been a basketball great, I'll bet, but his height didn't hurt, right?

And if Elizabeth Taylor didn't have her face - Dolly Parton her chest measurements - well, it helps make them memorable at the very least. 

 

But for the majority of us, yes, we may be known as the "lady who brings brownies", or the "teacher who yells a lot" or even "the tall guy who works over in the next section." It may be a tag, an oddity, even, a way to point you out in a crowd,

But I doubt that unless your career, your corporal challenges in regular pubic situations are based on something you are physically, then it is NOT a "defining" term.

I await your apology, Blake.

MONDAY THE 13TH

The number 13 is lucky.

At least for me. I was born on the 13th. And since every one else considers it bad luck, then I'm just gonna step right in there and suck up whatever good luck there is.

They've even named a mental disorder, triskaidekaphobia, a specific phobia of Friday 13th.

Try to say that fast thirteen times.

There are some reasons perhaps that 13 is unlucky. Children become teenagers at age 13. And if anyone has had more than one teenager and not wanted to shoot them right around that age, please let me know.

Did you know that a bar mitzvah, Judaism's recognition of 'coming of age' for the boy is at age 13, while a bat mitzvah for girls is at age 12? Yup, women, we just mature faster and the guys never catch up, do they?

Halloween's date is 13 backwards (yeah, that may be stretching it just a little bit).

Some buildings eliminate the #13, and just go from floor 12 to 14 in order to avoid the number 13.

Apollo 13? Made a great movie, but something that in retrospect maybe NASA could have just skipped and no one would have noticed.

Supposedly the author Stephen King won't stop reading on page 94, 193, 382, et al because the digits add up to 13 . Personally, I think he already had to be more than a bit weird just to have written all these horrifying books, so maybe he just reads the book cover to cover, because having to consider what the page numbers add up to... that's sort of a thing John Nash would notice.

But the number of original colonies in the United State was 13; in fact, the one dollar bill is U.S. currency has multiple 13's - 13 levels to the pyramid, 13 stars, 13 arrows - somebody on that design team didn't have a problem with it.

The 13th Amendment to the Constitution is the one abolishing slavery, and that's pretty cool. But it also adds "except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted" - does anyone know if we can still do that? I like the concept; much cheaper than the prison system, I would think. I could use a slave - or two, since my kids have moved away.

We've already had two Friday the 13ths this year - and one more coming in November. And as far as I know, nothing horrible happened on those days.

In ancient Egypt, the number 13 represented immortality - in ancient China, it meant completeness and perfection.


13 is a prime number; and I just LOVE prime numbers.

And Wilt Chamberlain wore the number 13 on his jersey - hey, if that doesn't make it great, what else could?