The Writer's Almanac for December 18, 2007

piano plays and fades.
Garrison: It's the birthday of American born blogger, linda jean. She spent much of her solitary life in the town where she was born. She thought that she was ill-equipped for living alone and yet believed that she grew to know herself more fully than she would have otherwise, and her life became more authentic because of it. linda jean who wrote:
"I told a man that my birthday was on the 18th and he said that his was on the shortest day of the year. I told him it meant that he was born on the longest night of the year which he hadn't considered. I have a belief that we are affected by the time of year in which we are born and so we have similarities to those who are born near the same day. It's not a belief in the cosmic, astrological sense, but based on the physical world. Our birthdays are cold, they include Christmas decorations, the day is short. Our first days were full of shortened sunlight, festive gatherings, clinking Salvation Army buckets, and heavy clothing. On our birthday we wake up and think 'why is it still so dark?'. I find the weight of heavy blankets comforting even when I'm not cold."