I went out to look for a birthday card for my dad a few weeks ago and came away empty-handed. The not-from-a-kid son-to-father cards ran to beer, cuss words, hammocks, and bad poetry, none of which fit my dad. So I made a card: I found a hexagonal grid online, sized and printed it, and turned it into a tile floor with an 85 set in hexagons. Something like this, old-school.
My dad turns 85, or eighty-five, today. He worked as a tileman in northern New Jersey, Leddy Ceramic Tile, and he’s made many beautiful cards for birthdays and holidays. Thus my card, a second-generation effort.
Happy birthday, Dad.
Some art by James Leddy
Abe’s shades : Boo! : Happy holidays : Hardy mums : Thanks!
[The cuss card offered thanks for teaching the card-giver to talk like the card-recipient. Sheesh. I like to spell numbers up to one hundred, but not on a tile floor, not even a virtual tile floor. My wife Elaine thinks that “I like to spell numbers” means that I have a strange hobby, so I’ll rephrase: I prefer to write out numbers up to one hundred.]
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Happy birthday, Dad
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comments: 2
Happy birthday, indeed, to your dad! Good long innings! I'm sure the card you made is far superior to anything commercially produced.
For decent birthday sentiments, though, I recommend Hobby Lobby (if they have those there) or (believe it or not) a garden store (the trendy sort with a lot of gifty things.) Or a museum shop.
Also, shopping year-round works for me. The only caveat--have ONE place to put the gifts and cards. I occasionally unearth a 'perfect' card that I've stashed somewhere clever--so clever that I can't find it when I need it.
I’ve never been in a Hobby Lobby. I think there’s one in a nearby city. The name reminds me of the “hobby shops” of years ago.
The museum-shop strategy has worked for me. What would work even better for me is your year-round strategy — so I can get something when I’m already in a museum. :)
Thanks for your good wishes for my dad. He’ll be sure to see them here.
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