Okay, I finally got around to getting my name on the members' birthday list (with the year, brave soul that I am), and so it shall forevermore be known. Ongoing thanks for the ongoing good wishes, good songs and good partyin'! You guys are the best!!!

A couple more replies...

Sandra in Sydney: Happy un-February-birthday! Hey, your brother is the same age I am! I'm noticing the onset of CRS, myself, so that could explain his inaction too (and it's a great excuse for you to forget his b'day – why wait till 2006?). If it's any consolation, I haven't heard from my 50-year-old brother or his family yet, though that's not unusual since I'm not in touch with them as closely as with the other bro!

Spaw: I humbly thank you. I'm glad you got a kick out of that bit of doggerel!

WYSIWYG: As I said in my PM to you, s'okay! Hope things have quieted down somewhat for you and that you're getting some well-deserved rest. Hmmm... next birthday, eh? Hadn't planned that far ahead. Dunno when I can come up to visit, but until I can get my tooth-pain problem resolved, I won't be very good company! I'm workin' on it...

SINSULL: Okay, then, beware of falling hints next year! To answer your question, both my father's fancies and Deda's poem make sense within their own contexts! (Howzat for diplomacy? *G*)

DMcG (who sez "One twin I know goes round reminding everyone that its the other twin's birthday in a weeks time!"): Well, we could extrapolate that to apply to every Gemini (twin) on Mudcat... and that's a lotta Geminis...

Deda: Rhyming "SharonA" with "Chardonnay" and "hair on" with "Sharon" – brilliant, simply brilliant. And thanks for the compliment; the feeling is mutual!

Genie: Likewise, the "Shar-care-eclair" stanza is inspired! It's a funny thing: in this particular geographical area (the suburbs of Philadelphia PA) one finds different pronunciations of words, depending on where the speaker grew up (the city, the near suburbs, the far suburbs or the more rural area). One of those words is the name "Sharon"; my family pronounces it with a long "a", and that's what I've come to think of as "my name", but more often than not people pronounce it with a short "a" so I've learned to answer to that as well... and to "[my] Sharóna"...*G*

...Once again, thank you, everyone – and a happy un-birthday (or birthday, as the case may be) to all of you, too!

Sharon