As you all know from reading the countdown on this blog for the past two weeks, I am 27 years old today. The birth happened on October 5, 1977 at 3:50 P.M. at NYU Medical Center. My parents ate Italian food the night before and my mom thought that her initial labor pains were just indigestion. But they soon went to the hospital once it became apparent that I was no mere indigestion. It was the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah and my mom's doctor was in temple, celebrating the beginning of the annual cycle through which Jews read the Torah. He was called out of temple to rush to the hospital. Due to strangulation from the umbilical cord, I had to be delivered via C-Section. The doctors had to work on me for a few minutes to unstrangle me and ensure that I was breathing correctly. It was a bit of an ordeal but I got through it OK! My name was determined by my parents in advance. I was named after my grandfather, Phil Newman, who passed away three years before my birth. Hence my dramatic entry into the world. What will my 28th year have in store? Stay tuned.