Quote:
Originally posted by Sidd Finch
Mrs. Finch (before she was Mrs. Finch) and I travelled from SF to NY for a surprise b-day party for my father. He knew my siblings were in town (they lived closer to him, and they came into to town to "take him out to dinner"), but the party and our presence was a surprise.
There were around 80-100 people there, and he was completely, utterly surprised -- he literally went completely slack-jawed.
Then he saw me and the Missus, and visibly was even more shocked.
Despite never being close with him, I must say it was worth the huge hassle of a cross-country trip. It's really charming to see someone totally overwhelmed and flattered like that.
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Hey! You stole my story, asshat.
My grandfather back east recently had his 90th birthday. I, being recently bounced all over the friggin' country, was not expected to come, and we hinted to the folks that it would be impossible.
For logistical reasons not worth going into here, I flew a Friday night redeye back east, picked up Ms. Gattigap and the Juniors, drove across 2 states and dropped in on the party on Sunday. (And, I flew back west later that evening).
A tremendous pain in the ass, but I felt I needed to do this. I had missed out on a variety of family events recently, and though they didn't say so, I could tell that my parents had been disappointed. Granddad was pleased and surprised, but my parents were simply flabbergasted. That moment made the trip worthwhile.
Gattigap
