Happy birthday to local leapling!

WALTER Kusel is a family man, a butcher and a man of few words, but even fewer official birthdays.

Walter was born on February 29, 1968, which makes him technically 47 years, 11 months, and 25 days old. His wife, Leonie, giggles at the thought, but officially Walter will be turning 12 this year.

To some, the thought of being a ‘leapling,’ the term for a person who was born on February 29, is a difficult one to grasp, but to Walter, it’s no big deal.

“We have three second cousins in our family who were born on February 29. I also had a classmate throughout school who shared the same birthday as me.” he muses. “It’s just like a normal birthday to me.”

While he doesn’t like to make a fuss about it, Walter generally celebrates his birthday on February 28 in non leap years, which is not an uncommon practice among leaplings, who have the option of celebrating on either February 28 or March 1.

“We have a running joke in the family about me celebrating my 21st birthday as an old man in a wheelchair,” laughs Walter, considering that, given the occurrence of February 29 only once every four years on the calendar, he would officially turn 21 in 2052.

Happy birthday, Walter Kusel. May you be blessed with many more.