Finally 21
Krolikowski will celebrate birthday Feb. 29
Ron Krolikowski plans to celebrate his 21st birthday at J.J.’s this year with a legal drink. But unlike many others celebrating their first legal drink, Krolikowski has been to J.J.’s many times in the past. In fact, he and his friends call J.J’s their “Cheers.” Even though Krolikowski is turning 21 later this month, he’s been drinking legally for a long time. His birthday is on Feb. 29.
He reports that the odds of being a leap year baby are 1 in about 1,500. But the odds of being the second child in a family with a leap year birthday are 1 in about 2 million. Krolikowski has an older sister who was born exactly two — or is it eight — years earlier.
Krolikowski is the youngest of 11, but he’s especially close to his sister, Lorraine Cox, who shares his birthday. They usually celebrate it together and he’s collected a thick envelope of newspaper clippings about their unusual birth dates. They’ve been featured in newspapers in Nebraska, Florida and Arkansas. Now that they are both in their 20s, travel is a little more difficult so they won’t get together this year, he said.
They grew up in Nebraska, where Ron Krolikowski had a long career with the state patrol. When Ron and his wife Dianne retired, they moved to Bella Vista. That was in 1996. He’s been active on POA committees, the Kiwanis Club and the Bella Vista Animal Shelter. Krolikowski brought the “Wiener Takes All Races” to the animal shelter.
Having a leap year birthday has been fun, Krolikowski said, except for one time when he was trying to get a hunting license in Nebraska and the computer refused to recognize Feb. 29.
On the years when there is no Feb. 29, he figures he gets to decide which day to celebrate. When he was younger, it was usually both Feb. 28 and March 1, especially if there was a weekend involved.
Besides the two leap-year birthdays, Krolikowski’s siblings include one born on Christmas and one on Valentine’s Day.
“I guess my dad had it figured out,” he said.