2003-06-07 - 9:41 p.m.
REAL MEN
Father�s Day has been on the minds of my children, particularly Day-Hay. Day-Hay has been thinking for weeks about what to get Mr. Philately for Father�s Day. I told her that I had authorized him to spend much more money in a stamp auction on E-bay than he normally would for an item he was coveting, but he lost the item anyway because, as I am glad to learn, more money does not mean lots and lots of money to him.
So, we sat on the bench outside the cheap ice cream parlor discussing Father�s Day. That bench was an appropriate place to discuss Father�s Day. If we had been at the other ice cream parlor, the discussion would have been inappropriate. Mr. Philately (who was not present anyway) hates the other ice cream parlor because it is over-priced. A one-time visit as a special treat when Day-Hay had a gift certificate caused me to see a man I rarely see. I got to meet Mr. Philately, the killjoy.
Any way, we were in the right place with the right people present for a Father�s Day gift discussion. Alone, I would not have had the discussion, not even with myself. I gave him Kat for Father�s Day sixteen years ago and figure I cannot top the gift so I do not even try for special gifts. The man should feel lucky if I remember that it is Father�s Day. He should feel especially lucky if I remember and I do not give him his usual gift. My usual gift is to nag him to call his own father. The gift part is that I nag nicely.
But Day-Hay was focused on HER gift. Although Mr. Philately is not much of a t-shirt wearer, she suggested a t-shirt. She thought it could say, �Real Men Collect Stamps.� I was not sure we could find such a t-shirt but I was sure we could make one. But I did not get a chance to say so. �No,� said Kat, �It should say �Old Men Collect Stamps.�� I thought of the average age of the men in Mr. Philately�s stamp club. Actually, I thought of the average age of the men in all three of Mr. Philately�s stamp clubs. And I started to laugh.
I still do not know what Day-Hay will get Mr. Philately for Father�s Day but I do know one thing. Forget what real men do. I do not know what real men do. I do know what smart men do. Smart men watch out for almost-sixteen-year-olds bearing Father�s Day gifts.
LAST YEAR: no entry
TWO YEARS AGO: Bird Brains
Are We Having Fun Yet?
Never the Twin Shall Meet
Not Being There
The Art of the Nap
The Go-Go Girl is Gone-Gone
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Copyright 2006 by Ellen |
