HBD

Having a May 9 birthday gave me lots of cache when I lived in Russia because May 9 is Victory Day, the day the Soviet Union officially won World War II. Given the significance that Russians (rightly) give their WWII victory, being born on May 9 (the 30th anniversary, no less!) was like having a birthday on Christmas, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Easter, Memorial Day and Thanksgiving all rolled into one. It was about as blessed as you could get in a once officially atheist nation.

From a brief Wikipedia perusal, I learn that I share a birthday with John Ashcroft, Rosario Dawson, Tony Gwynn and many other semi-famous people. I also learn that those unfortunate enough to die on May 9 include Tenzing Norgay and Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov. I interviewed Kadyrov at the Waldorf in New York a few weeks before he was killed in a bomb blast. The explosives blew up the stadium seating in Grozny where he was watching a Victory Day parade. I'm unsure of the significance of this, but even though Kadyrov struck me as a bit of a thug, it's still kind of sad.