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The Story of the 13’s:
The story begins many years ago with a mother whose birthday is July 13th and a father who tried desperately not to forget it. I try to keep it alive every year as a tribute to both of them and all that they put up with as I was growing up.
Years ago, I visited Dad in his one-man body shop. I noticed that he had taken a windshield crayon and written the number 13 all over the place. There were 13’s all over the windows and the walls. Basically, you couldn’t look in any direction without seeing the number 13. When I asked him what it was all about, he replied “There’s no way I’m going to forget your mother’s birthday this year".
Scroll forward a couple of years. Dad passed away, and I told a friend all about the story. When July 13th rolled around, I walked into an office that was covered in 13’s. He had written the number 13 all over my whiteboard. He had taken a pad full of sticky notes and put 13’s all over the desk, all over the wall, in the desk drawers, and even inside the case of my PC. I was still finding them months later.
The end of the story is that I try to keep Dad’s work alive by posting a bunch of 13’s on my web site for Mom’s birthday. It’s my geeky, wise-guy way of telling her that I haven’t forgotten. It’s also my way of telling her that, wherever Dad is, he hasn’t forgotten either.
This year, I’m a day early because I have a very busy day planned for the 13th. I didn’t want to let the day slip by without some kind of mention.
Happy Birthday Mom.
