You Say it's Your Birthday?

Well, Happy Birthday! 

Do you live in the 4th Ward?  Then you may have gotten one of these:

GA received the above with this note from reader Hoboken Diary:

Dear GA,

Your "Say It Ain't So!" entry came out a few days after my birthday.  When I read it, I suddenly realized what was that certain something that had been missing in my life when my own birthday had come and gone some days earlier.  I hadn't gotten MY yearly card from Brian Stack!!  On the one hand, I felt a weight lift from my soul, now knowing what was wrong.  On the other, I was flattened, simply crushed.  No card from Brian!  What did I do to deserve it?  Even my ex-ophthalmologist sent me a card (but that's another story).

But then!  It came!!

No, not a card from Brian Stack, not at all (that creep).  Something much, much better.  A card from ... Tim Occhipinti!!!  Really, truly, none other!  OK, the envelope was postmarked two days after the Big Day, but I always say "better late than never," don't you?

I scanned the card so you can enjoy it, too.  And guess what?  You really CAN enjoy it just as if it's your own because my name appears nowhere on it!  So, it's just like it's your birthday again, three or so months later!  (See, I remembered!)

Now, you might point out that it would be nicer to have gotten the usual card from Brian, with my name written in both English and Spanish, and Brian's personal signature in both English and Spanish.  And it is definitely a loss not to see those two smiling images of that dashing fellow (even if he is a creep for dropping me from his birthday greetings list).  Tim isn't so generous with his picture, I admit.  But maybe that's modesty.  Modesty is good, right?  Right?

Please feel welcome to share these glad tidings -- and the CARD -- with your readers.  It's someone's birthday today, maybe even someone else who lives in the 4th Ward of Hoboken, and Tim wants to help celebrate.  Guaranteed.

Thank you, Hoboken Diary!  And Happy Belated Birthday.

I don't know why Stack forgot about you this year; did you forget to vote for him?  Sorry, none of my business.

But I voted for him, and I got one.

Well, let me share the rest of your 4th Ward birthday card:

A homemade card!  Now, isn't that sweet?   I make my own cards, too.  It's cheaper, and more personal.

So, let's see.  Timmy's paying for the cost of materials, but the labor is "donated".   Interesting.

I wonder who Timmy's Birthday Card Czar is?  Someone to scan the 4th Ward rolls and track voters' birthdays, then make the cards, post and mail them...

The 2010 Census has the 4th Ward population at 8,152.  GA will guess about half are registered, let's say 4,000.

So... that's a lot of 'labor'- GA has trouble remembering a handful of birthdays, can you imagine trying to remember 4,000?  And the "in-house" administration, production and mailing is a significant 'donation'. GA is curious what the value of those services are, and where Timmy's Birthday Card Czar does the administration and card production, since his campaign headquarters are closed.  

Would someone like to ask Timmy who's donating the labor (and overhead) for Operation You Say it's Your Birthday?




GA Note: Check out Hoboken Diary's blog.  It's not a daily, but full of goodies.