December 19th should be a national holiday

It’s the birthday of Al Kaline. The hall of fame right fielder is 75.

Today is also the birthday

… of Little Jimmy Dickens. The country novelty singer is 89.

… of Oscar-nominee Cicely Tyson. She’s 76. Tyson was nominated for the 1973 best actress award for her performance in Sounder.

… of Kevin McHale. The basketball hall of fame member is 52.

… of Mike Lookinland. Bobby Brady is 49.

… of Flashdance’s Jennifer Beals. She’s 46. Flashdance was her second film. She played Clifford’s girlfriend in My Bodyguard. Adam Baldwin (no relation to “the” Baldwins) was the bodyguard, Matt Dillon the bully, and Joan Cusack another girlfriend.

… of Jake Gyllenhaal. The Oscar nominated actor is 29.

Edith Piaf was born on this date in 1915. Petite Piaf (4-10, 90 pounds) was known as the “sparrow of the streets.” She was the leading chanteuse of her day, most well-known for “La vie en rose.” According to some reports she used her fame to ingratiate herself to Nazi officers during the occupation of France, then in turn used that to gain access to French prisoners with whom she had her photo taken. The prisoners used the photo to create false identity cards to assist in an escape. Ms. Piaf died in 1963.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was published on this date in 1843. I read it just the other evening — on my iPhone.

Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shriveled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin. He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog-days; and didn’t thaw it one degree at Christmas.

Bah! Humbug!