Meet the man turning 64, going on 16

Peachland’s Ed Helfenbein, who is just one year shy of official retirement age, is celebrating only his 16th birthday.

Why? Check the calendar.

“I was born on Feb. 29, in a leap year,” Helfenbein told Roach from 104.7 The LIZARD. “I only have a birthday once every four years.”

Ed was born in 1960, so that means he’s had only 16 birthdays.

But he recalls his family certainly made up for things, as he has a brother who was born Feb.28.

“When I was little, my mom and dad always made it special. We always had our birthday together on the 28th and usually had two cakes, “ he explained. “And when the 29th rolled around we had a really big cake.

“I was born at 1:02 a.m. on the 29th, and my brother used to call me up on the 28th at midnight when it wasn’t a leap year and hang up because he said my birthday only lasted a second,” he remembers with a laugh.

Inevitably, Ed’s wife Kathy has had to endure a near lifetime of ‘cradle robber’ comments.

And just to make matters a little more mathematically interesting her birthday is on March 2.

It’s certainly not the week for avoiding cake and calories.