Blow Out The Candles

Happy Birthday Dad! I rarely get to see him on the actual day anymore, but at least I'm there within a few days of it. And no, we don't usually spew out numbers on this blog, but suffice it to say that the number now associated with Dad is a lot larger than it seems like it should be. Not only did I gain the "youthful genes" from both him and Mom, but I also can learn a lot from them about growing older gracefully.

I always felt bad for him when I was a kid, what with his birthday being five days before Christmas and all. The way his "birthday celebration" usually worked was like this:

1) Take one present from under the Christmas tree and say "happy birthday." Only the fact that it wasn't wrapped in Christmas paper kept it from looking like any other present down there.
2) Take him out to dinner on his own credit card. (This wasn't as tacky as it sounds; Mom was a stay-at-home mom, and even in high school, when I had my fast-food jobs, I wouldn't have been able to chip in much.)

However, he took it all in stride, and still does; I think he considers it more of an early Christmas than anything (if he even considers it anything besides "just another day"), and Mom loves the four months that he's a "year older" than she is.

CHALK ONE UP FOR THE GOOD GUYS: In a surprise setback for the beleaguered recording industry, a U.S. appeals court ruled Friday that record labels cannot force Internet service providers to name customers who illegally copy music online.

(Read the whole story here. If you're wondering why this musician considers file-swappers the good guys and not the recording industry, read my Ranting Against the Machine post.)

'TIS THE SEASON TO BE JOLLY TIRED, CRANKY AND ASSAULTED ON ALL SIDES BY RUDE CUSTOMERS: I ran across this great site last night about the adventures of a onetime Barnes and Noble employee and his encounters with, shall we say, "difficult" customers:

http://kempa.com/articles/bn/

It's long but worth the read--very funny. Anyone who's worked retail will be able to relate to it. At some point, I'll collect the random stuff from all the years I worked weekends at Brook Mays and get them on this site as well.