This year’s prize for most creative birthday present goes to Robrt Pela.
February 3, 2022. Robrt and his husband, Todd, had my husband Tony and me over for a birthday brunch. We hadn’t seen much of each other except to see one or the other through the front door peephole as we left food gifts on their front porch or ours. That’s how the pandemic went for us.
But this year we decided a brunch would be a fun and we accepted their invitation. In my reply to Robrt’s invite, I asked Robrt “formal attire,” as we most always dress casually unless we’re going out to a special concert or dinner. He sent a laughing emoji.
Then, I had an idea. I asked Tony, “Do you think you could still fit into your tux, you haven’t worn it for 20 years?” I knew I had a fancy caftan (sixties style) that my mom had made for a very fancy cruise she went on in the 90s, but I had never tried it on. It was had beautiful gold trim on embroidered silk. We thought it would be a blast to show up at their door in “formal attire.” And we took jeans and tees to change into after the initial reveal.
Were we astounded when Tony’s tux fit (with no adjustments at all!) and I could squeeze into Mom’s caftan. We all had a few minutes of raucous laughter when we arrived. And Todd was sweet to take our photo right away, and it ended up Tony stayed dressed in the fancy duds while I changed!
After a divine brunch cooked by Todd, we sat down to open our birthday gifts (you should already know that Robrt and I are birthday twins), both born on February 3rd. I can’t even remember eight months later what gift we gave Robrt, but his gift to me was mind blowing. It was a page from Tiger Beat with a unique contest: Win Coffee with Ann!
I implore you to read every word of the “contest” because Robrt had recreated an entry form with his original copy which contained about every tidbit of every contest. The entrants had to unscramble the letters “MOONYTRAN” to tell who is Ann Moses’ fave rave to win. And Robrt is so smart, he figured it out: Tony Marino. He filled in his childhood home’s address and designed the entry form as if it were two column with the third being a continuation from a David Cassidy story. He even printed it on newsprint (paper). And not to leave out a single detail, he made it like it was torn from the pages of Tiger Beat with my Meow! Column on the back side.
We’ve had fun picking a date/time and place each month for our coffee date. And the “contest” included a pound of coffee each time. So one month I choose a new place to try, and the next Robrt chooses. We talk for hours and catch up on each other’s lives.
I only wish Robrt had been old enough to work at Tiger Beat. He definitely would have been my muse.
But, alas, he was born in 1962!
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