Leaping over the years

On Sunday, Kirk Weatherford of Poplar Bluff will celebrate his eighth "birth" day, though he was born in 1972.

That's because Weatherford is one of only 0.0684 percent of the world's population born on Feb. 29, the
leap day added to the calendar once every four years.

"My mom tells me that when I was 5 or 6 I used to cry because I didn't see my birthday on the calendar and
thought I wouldn't get a party," Weatherford said.

He did always get a party, just not usually on the actual date of his birthday, said Weatherford, who is a lumber
inspector at Schaller Hardwoods.

Donna Enochs knows the feeling. Born on leap day in 1956, Sunday will be only the 12th time she's gotten to
celebrate her birthday on Feb. 29.

"I've always had a birthday party, either on the 28th or March 1, but when there was actually a Feb. 29, we'd
always have a special celebration," said Enochs, who home schools her three children.

Most people take for granted celebrating birthdays every year on days that actually exist. Not so "leapers," as
they have been called. For that, the rest of us should be grateful.

For without a Feb. 29, over the course of several hundred years, we'd be celebrating Valentine's Day with
swimming parties and having snowstorms on the Fourth of July.

That's because a year, which is the time it takes for the earth to travel once around the sun, isn't a nice round
number. Instead it is precisely 365.24219 days. That extra slightly more than one-quarter day wreaked havoc
with early calendars, from those of the ancient Romans through much of the Renaissance. All the calendars with
the same number of days every year would eventually create seasonal confusion.

That is until 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII decreed that a leap day would be added to the calendar every
four years, except years ending in 00, in which case only if the year is divisible by 400.

Problem solved for everyone except those born on leap day.

McKenzie Damron and Abbey Ursery, both second-graders at O'Neal Elementary School and both with
Feb. 29 birthdays, have felt a little deprived in past years, even through both said their families always celebrate
their birthdays on Feb. 28 in non-leap years.

McKenzie said she was surprised the first time she looked at a calendar and saw her birthday wasn't there.
"I thought it was a joke," McKenzie said.

Abbey said she thinks it's unfair that Feb. 29 only comes around once every four years while the date of her
little sister's birthday shows up on the calendar every year.

But both are planning on making up for lost time this year with special celebrations, Abbey at Skate City and
McKenzie at the Black River Coliseum pool.

"I'm just so excited that it's finally coming up," Abbey said.

To Weatherford, it's just another birthday, though he is planning a celebration with friends tonight since he's
set to bowl in a tournament on Sunday.

"The only person who gives me a hard time about it is my nephew, who's 10. He's always telling me he's older
than I am," said Weatherford, who was born 32 years but only eight leap years ago. "He never fails to mention it."

Enochs said there are some advantages to being born on Feb. 29 in addition to being able to tell people that
after living for 48 years, she's only had 12 birthdays.

For one, in non-leap years you could celebrate your birthday over two days, the last day of February and the
first one of March, instead of just one. It's a conversation starter, since most people tell Enochs they've never
met anyone before whose birthday was Feb. 29.

And that brings up perhaps the best thing about being born on that day.

"It's easy for people to remember your birthday," she said.