deathday

"Humans are amphibians - half spirit and half animal: As spirits they belong to the eternal world, but as animals they inhabit time." C. S. Lewis

So, into our world, in 1819, came Mary Ann Evans, through the door marked 22 November. To the extent that she's still known it is as George Eliot, her nom de wordspinner, for her books, Middlemarch & Silas Marner. And on that day, 80 years later, Hoagy Carmichael was born. But really, this date is generally draped in black, given the notable souls whose tickets were punched on the 22nd of November. .Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard the fearsome pirate, was killed on this date in 1718. Robert Clive, the baron/poobah of the East India Co. ended his celebrated life on 22 Nov, 1774. Happy Deathday, composer Arthur S. Sullivan, 110 years ago today. Sixteen years later Jack London's hard-knockabout author's life came to an end.

Golly...I find that .that horrible "Stooge" Shemp Howard, Moe's brother, I think, died 22 Nov. 1955, when I was 4 years old.... the brilliant bizarre Mae West died on 22 Nov. 1980, when she was 87 and wonderful character actor, Sterling Holloway, who was so terrific in the small part he played in Meet John Doe, died in 1992. . Lorenz Hart, a most marvelous poet of a lyricist and a trouble-tormented fellow passed away on this date in 1943 (I think the link might take you to Doris Day singing "My Romance"... the tune's by Richard Rodgers).

But it's this day, 20 years later, that's the most grievous of all. C.S. Lewis & Aldous Huxley died that day. And of course, Death was waiting for JFK in Dallas.