April 11, 2003

[General] Happy Birthday, Dad.

Today is my Dad's birthday. He is 61, if I am doing the math right, although since I told him last year that 60 was the new 40, I guess that makes him 41 in Lori years. Not sure if it actually works that way, but I'm going with it. Math is hard.

I have a couple of appointments today and when I originally made them, as I was writing them in what passes for my calendar, I noticed the date and mentioned, to the people that I was making the appointments with, that it would be my Dad's birthday that day. I've also mentioned this to my business partner and a couple of other folks. No matter who I tell, though, that my Dad's birthday is coming, the response is always the same.

"Really? What are you getting him?"

Hmmm. What am I getting him?

When I was younger and much, much more spoiled, I used to say--half seriously--that for his birthday, I was going to let my Dad take me shopping. I mean, buying me things was the thing that gave him the most joy in the world so who was I to deprive him of that, on his birthday of all days?

Now, though, his birthday is harder, and not only because I am shorter on cash than I am used to. No, his birthday is hard because he neither wants nor needs for anything. He has less impulse control than I do--what he wants, he buys, leaving precious little for Christmases or Birthdays. It can be a little frustrating.

He doesn't have one thing that he would like, though, and that is a winning baseball team. He's a Pittsburgh Pirate fan, you see, and a foul-weather one at that, which, frankly, is the only kind that has been possible for the last 10 years. I don't think that the Bucs have had a winning season since the days of Bonilla and Bonds in the early 90s. That might--might--change this year, though. They bought a little talent in the off-season. USAToday thinks that they are capable of playing .500 ball and--gasp!--maybe contending for the wild card late into September. Now the stars are going to have to line up for this to happen, but wow--what it would mean to him if it did.

So for his birthday, I am asking those of you who have any sort of relationship with the Baseball gods to say a little baseball prayer for my Dad's team. Also, if you want to send him an email so that he can see how many people know that his daughter loves him more than the sun, the moon and the stars, well, that would be OK, too.


Send my Dad a birthday email!

Posted by Lori at April 11, 2003 12:10 AM