Bring Back Bill Knapps

Though I know that blogs in general are a bit self-indulgent, mine are going to be more so this week. It's my birthday week! I'm going to turn to page 53 of my life on Thursday.

So it's a whole week of honoring, gift-giving and revelry. Of course, I don't get gifts every day. Nor parties. But it is a week when, for instance, my wife Wendy asks me to let the dog in when he's scratching at the back door. If I'm lying on the couch watching TV, I can reply, "Can you let him in? It's my birthday week." And it might fly.

Oh, there'll be gifts eventually. My sister-in-law usually asks me for some suggestions at the beginning of the month. ("Shop early, shop often," I'll tell her) Making my list out early has a couple benefits. I get what I want, but by the time my birthday rolls around, I've forgotten what I've asked for. So it's still a surprise. As I get older, each year is more of a surprise than last.
Probably by the time I'm 60, I'll open a gift and ask, "Why did you get me this?"

"Because it was on your list."

"Oh."

Instead of writing her own birthday list, Wendy will make gift suggestions to me in the month or two leading up to her birthday. While we're working out in the yard, she might suggest some solar battery-powered garden footlights for her birthday. But by the time I begin my shopping for her, I'll remember that as battery-powered Japanese lanterns or something similar.
So her birthday gifts could turn out to be as much of a surprise as mine are.

Yesterday, I received an e-mail inviting me to a local restaurant for a free meal, their treat. Wendy got one too, because she's my spouse. Two free meals? Wow. This is not your ordinary eat 'n go type establishment either but an upscale wine 'n dine joint. We'll have to try it this weekend. Must be some catch there somewhere.

At one time, you could go to Bill Knapp's, a regional restaurant chain, and get the percentage equivalent of your age discounted off your meal price. Plus a free cake! Getting 80 per cent off your dinner on your 80th birthday made this place a favorite with the geriatric set.

When comedian Tim Allen was just a locally known prospect, we heard him joke about Bill Knapps during a stand-up gig in Ann Arbor. "Bill Knapps, where all the waitresses are certified in CPR."

Bill Knapps went out of business a year or so ago, probably because they gave away too many birthday discounts to us aging baby boomers.