Spitfire Blog

Over the years a lot of my friends have become familiar with the “Birthday Chicken.” For some, they only have pieces to the story, and with it being my birthday last week, I wanted to make sure I gave the entire history for all to understand.

It was a cold winter day in 1992, I was a freshmen at LaGrange College and several of my closest friends were sitting around telling old stories and sharing a few laughs about when we had figured out certain things in life. The obvious crew came up: Santa, the Easter Bunny, etc.  While we laughed and carried on, I asked “When did you guys figure out about the birthday chicken….?” As soon as this statement left my tongue, I noticed the immediate impact it had on my friends. Their faces were puzzled, eyes widened, the echo of laughter faded…..and in a split second the room was silent.

I quickly realized the following:

A. I am apparently the only person aware of the Birthday Chicken
B. I’m going to hear about this moment for the rest of my life

For those of you who didn’t know my mother, she was an incredibly creative woman with a beautiful sense of humor. She was the mastermind behind the Birthday Chicken and every year on my Birthday, the chicken would “call me” on the telephone and ask me what type of cake I wanted. I would describe the cake and like magic the next day it would arrive.

So now the Birthday Chicken lives on. It spread like wildfire through my college friendships and has even shown itself on several occasions at the office. Just last year I had the biggest surprise of all. My college crew gathered for the Super Bowl and a birthday party and of course for the first time in my life, I was able to come face to face with the Birthday Chicken.

I know my mother couldn’t have asked for a better gathering of folks to witness the Chicken’s first real appearance.

So I hope you too bring the story of the Birthday Chicken to life for your children. I know I plan to!