My son loves Spider-Man and The Flash. I've encouraged him to like Superman and Batman. He doesn't care too much about those guys. But he started liking those other characters before I even had a chance to intervene.
When I was his age, my Top 4 superheroes were Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and The Flash. Spidey is way-cool and The Flash is way-fast. Things don't change much.
Anyway, it is his birthday today and as is the case with all the birthdays—sans the parents—around here, we do birthday themes. Spidey was this year's theme.
We ordered him a Spiderman cake, too. All we had to do was pick it up at the store after 11:00 AM and pay for it at the bakery counter.
Even though, I am a pie man—through and through—and evangelize for birthday pie over birthday cake, my son (and most everyone else that I know) has been indoctrinated with birthday cake propaganda.
[If you are a pie over cake person—which you should be and I will shame you if I find out you are not—our friends at Papa C Pies are right up your alley. https://papacpies.com ]
So, after lunch at his favorite pizza place (the one with the biggest horizontally suspended clock in the U.S.), we stopped by the bakery at Safeway to pick up the Spidey cake—vanilla cake and frosting but decorated in Spidey theme.
"Sorry. We didn't make that one. But... We can offer you a free cake."
"Well, we ordered a specific cake for a specific little boy who likes specific things. All you have now are generic cakes that he doesn't like. That's why we ordered ahead."
"Sorry. My manager is supposed to check her email."
"Uggghhh…."
We went to 3 more stores to try and find a cake that was suitable. None were.
Shockingly, a cake shop—and Mom—came to the rescue, so crisis averted… other than the cake was chocolate and too tall and the "thda" part of Happy Birthday is smeared. But it is in red and blue and we have Spidey decorations to put on it. So, mostly good.
Mom got a vanilla pound cake for good measure.
Still no pie, but I'm on a "diet."
What's the lesson?
If you want something done, and done right, pay for it up front.
As always,
Brian
