Today is the thirty-fifth birthday of Harry Potter, and the fiftieth birthday of his creator, JK Rowling. As I mentioned at the beginning of the month, JK was born a mere two days after yours truly, and it makes me ridiculously happy to count her among the extra-special July Leos (special because we’re outnumbered by the August members of our pride).
As I was putting together this post, I noticed an article in my Facebook newsfeed – 17 Harry Potter Stars Wish J.K. Rowling a Happy Birthday. I promptly deleted my own happy birthday message here (which, in all honesty, only said, “Happy birthday Harry Potter and JK Rowling! May all your birthday wishes come true!) and decided to post my two favorite messages from that site instead.
This one is from Natalia Tena (Nymphadora Tonks) –
So where the hell do I start? 50 years ago, a someone was born that has done what most of us dream of. She has made this little planet of ours a better, happier place and will leave a legacy that means that, that joy will continue to exponentially grow, generation by generation. I’m saying something everyone has said and will continue to write and say. Still it needs to be said and written.Let’s face it, we all want to live in her world, identify individually with the characters and the magic wielded there which seems to be like a fantastic extension of our tangible world.
She has made children turn back to the loving medium of books, feel the power of a page and fly behind the eyes of witches and wizards.
She has made me remember feeling young.
She deals with the ultimate anchor of our lives: death, and introduces it to children in a healthy, aware way that can propel them to find a concrete way of dealing with it.
She makes me laugh.
Thank you and I’ll be having pint of butter beer (JK, please tell us the recipe!) here’s to another 50 years (can’t believe you’re 50 by the way, you look HOT!)
And this from Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom) *swoon* –
I could talk about the millions of lives Jo has enriched whether through the stories and characters she’s created or through the millions of pounds she’s given to charity. She’s a remarkable woman. However, I would like to thank Jo for changing MY life. Without her imagination and her talent I would never have become the man I am today. That’s not even to mention her generosity and loyalty when it has come to supporting everything that I have done in the years since Harry Potter. She’s just a wonderful human being and I consider myself so privileged and honoured to call her a friend. Happy birthday, Jo.
Only thing I want to add to their wicked awesome messages is this –
I was really surprised to discover that Rowling was our age, this week — for some reason, I was thinking she was about ten years older than that. She’s a good reminder that it’s never too late to be a breakthrough writer. 😉
I like the way you thinkum, dear friend. 😀