All these years… 49 to be precise, I thought it was so cool to share a birthday with “the Mick.” Today I discovered Tom Petty turns 57 and Snoop Dogg will undoubtedly celebrate his 35th by emptying several firearms. Sadly I must also report actor Viggo Mortensen was also born on this day in 1958 and looks better than… Well, he looks like freakin Aragon and I don’t.

Anyway, enough celebrity nonsense. Christopher Wren would have been 375 today. Why is he important? Well, he designed 53 churches in London, including St Paul’s Cathedral. Of course St. Paul’s was the sight of a famous royal wedding in the 1980’s, but more important to me, it was on the steps of St. Paul’s the scene was set for the song, “Feed the Birds (Tuppence a Bag)” It is a song I’ve heard Kyle sing many times and one that will always have a home in my heart.

The song was penned by the Sherman Brothers (Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman) and was said to have been the favorite of Walt Disney himself. Wikipedia attributes the following recollection to Robert Sherman:

“On Fridays, after work, [Walt Disney would] often invite us into his office and we’d talk about things that were going on at the Studio. After a while, he’d wander to the north window, look out into the distance and just say, ‘Play it.’ And Dick would wander over to the piano and play ‘Feed the Birds’ for him. One time just as Dick was almost finished, under his breath, I heard Walt say, ‘Yep. That’s what it’s all about.’”

Happy Birthday and thank you, Christopher Wren.