Sunday, March 14, 2010

Sometimes, things are written in the stars - The Daily Advertiser

A local artsy friend is a fiend for horoscopes. This girl believes in the charts she studies.

With minimum encouragement, she will tell you everything you want to know about how the stars align according to the day of your birth, how your year should be, how a relationship may (or may not) work out, about your financial prospects and on and on.

Like so many others, I love listening to her. To be sure, she knows her stuff.
Her depth of knowledge is as fascinating as her passion for the subject matter. As she’s talked, I’ve watched people enthralled, doing their best to pick every detail they can from her words. I’ve watched others beg her to say no more. And she doesn’t. She understands it’s not for everyone.

Astrology often engenders extreme emotions. It has its loyal followers, like my friend â€" and its equally fervent naysayers.

Unlike my friend, I have looked upon horoscopes mostly for entertainment or food-for-thought, conversation-starter reasons.

However, over the years, I have noticed what some may see as simple strange coincidences about friends’ birthdays. Here’s the deal: Since I was a child, there has been a steady stream of people who I just “get.” I like these folks. I understand them. They make me smile. I know where they’re coming from. They’re “my people.”
(You get the drift.)

The number of those people who were born during the second week of March would astound you. The fact that so many people I care about share birthdays could be just a fluke, but I’m ready to do some informal research and see if anyone else out there shares this phenomenon.

At any rate, thank goodness for e-greetings.

To fully explain, my “birthday friend zone” is broader than a single week. From the end of February through the end of March (even into early April), I should send out close to 100 birthday cards.

Narrowing the focus, between March 7 and March 12, at least 15 close friends celebrate their birth.

Even more specifically, if you were born on March 9, March 10 or March 11, I am almost bound to like you â€" a lot.

Don’t get me wrong, I do not audit perspective friends or check their birthdays ahead of time. It’s one of those things I eventually learn and then say, “Oh, that explains that.”

Thankfully, plenty of friends and loved ones have birthdays outside “the zone” â€" i.e. my husband, children, parents and siblings. But, by this point in life, I’ve accepted that I am naturally drawn to people who were born around this time of year.

Which takes me back to astrology.

And how the stars align.

And makes me wonder about the mysteries of the universe.

No matter the level of silliness of my observation, I am comforted and inspired by strange little coincidences out there. Taking a moment to notice the web of connect-the-dots puzzles of life â€" even the off-the-wall, harebrained and ultimately meaningless ones â€" simply makes life more fun.

Jan Risher’s column, Long Story Short, appears on Sundays. She can be reached at jan@janrisher.com.

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