Maybe I Was Wrong

It could turn out that this birthday of Phil's ended up being pretty memorable after all. Every time he sits down in his recliner to watch his new 50" Panasonic plasma TV he may remember his birthday. Happy birthday to him...and Merry Christmas too. And probably Happy Birthday to me as well! He may also remember the completely miserable shopping experience we undertook to bring that puppy home. Take 2 kids age 4 and under, add in a mom who has had 4 hours of sleep since she worked all night Monday, and a dad who has been at work all day. Then, take all of them to a furniture store and let the kids run free. Now, after about 2 minutes of that, try to contain the younger of the 2 kids in a stroller. Hear that piercing, glass-shattering shriek? You must be doing it right. Now, once you have finally managed to pick out and pay for a tv console, load up those kids and head for the nearest electronics store. Oh, I should specify, the electronics store should be staffed completely by teenagers or adults with a 3rd grade mentality, except for one guy who seems to be fairly well educated about tv's. That guy can answer any question you have regarding the tv, totally convice you to buy one and then he will hang you out to dry by leading you to "customer service" to complete your credit application. He will also promise you 36 months interest free financing, which will turn out to be a lie. Now, at this point you will think you are home free, but just wait a minute. Or 20 minutes, while the dad ends up having to have his tv rung up, voided, and then rung up again because due to "computer trouble" they can't seem to get the register to give 36 months interest free as an option for this sale. Mom will be waiting in the car with the kids by this time, thinking things will be done soon. So, now, the dad exits the store and moves the car to the customer pick-up area so the challenged store workers can bring the tv out. 20 minutes later, he will go back into the store to find out where in the hell his tv is, only to find out it has been sitting right next to the door since he walked out, because someone forgot that the last part of making a purchase involves the customer actually taking their purchase home with them. So, out comes the tv, in a box that (of course) doesn't fit in the back of the vehicle without the 2 kids' carseats being removed and the second row vehicle seat being folded flat. This will present a problem, as the 2 kids are actually still with you and would like to go home too (even though you may not want to take them). At this point, you should get in the front seat, put the 2 kids on the mom's lap, buckle the seatbelt around them, and break a major law in every state by driving this way from the electronics store back to the furniture store where your other car is located (mom met dad after work--you live too far from town for it to make sense for dad to drive all the way home and then go back out later for this little excursion). Fortunately, there IS another car involved, or you would be breaking the law all the way home, which is about 12 miles away instead of just down the street. Now you should be ready for a drink or 6. The tv better be worth it!