Einar Offerdahl's Mother's Birthday: April 19

4.19.2010

My family and close friends have recognized April 19 as Einar Offerdahl's Mother's Birthday for a long time, many years.  In recent years, our celebratory greetings on that date have come to the attention of others, due to the internet.  I get a lot of requests for an explanation, so I'll explain it here, once and for all (I hope.)

Einar Offerdahl was a classmate of mine in high school.  When we were sophomores during the school year 1961-62, we sat next to each other in English class.  One day fairly early in that school term, I noticed Einar had written "April 19" on the back of his hand in ink.  I asked him the significance of that date, out of pure curiosity.  He replied that it was his mother's birthday.  Every year, he explained, he forgot his mother's birthday until it became a mad scramble to get her a gift or a greeting card or both.   This year, he proclaimed, there was no way he'd forget.

So every day, there was the date written on Einar's hand.  We came back from Christmas vacation, and the date was still there.  It was always there, every day.  I started greeting Einar every day in English with "Don't forget April 19th."

On Monday, April 16, Einar showed up in class with his hand clean -- nothing written on it.  When I asked, he said that his parents demanded he wash his hand for church on Palm Sunday.  But he assured me that, at that late date, he wouldn't forget.  On Friday, April 20, when he came to class I said, "Well, did you remember?"  He got a shocked look on his face and slapped his forehead. 

Of course he would have known the previous day was his mother's birthday, whether he forgot or not, and I don't know to this day if he actually forgot.  But it was a funny moment nonetheless, and one that I remembered.  To this day, I've not had any contact with Einar since we graduated from high school in 1964, and we were never more than good acquaintances, but I never forgot that episode, and every year when April 19 rolled around, I'd think of his mother's birthday.

When my kids were growing up, I shared the story with them and it became kind of a thing.  Then one year sometime in the 70s, I saw Einar's mother's obituary in the paper, and of course it said her birthday was April 19.  In the early 80s, I was playing music in Calgary with Steve Sellars, and staying at his house.  I happened to mention to Steve and his wife that Einar Offerdahl's Mother's Birthday was coming up, and they found it to be pretty hilarious.  So they joined in the annual celebration.  It just grew from there.

So now, every year a group of us, growing ever larger, wish each other a Happy Einar Offerdahl's Mother's Birthday.  Recently some of his family noticed this and asked about it.  When I explained and told them the story, they were delighted and told me their family was honored that we had this little thing.  And his son told me that Einar still can't remember birthdays.

Now you know the rest of the story.