JudoWolf.com

The older man walked into the Gold Crown store, looked around and observed no men in the store. Moving into the side aisle he perused the categories and realized he was in the wedding section. Rounding the corner he came to the Saint Patrick’s Day cards but this would not do, as his wife was not born on that day. Reversing his direction he went into the third aisle and found the birthday cards. The only problem was finding the wife section, as he encountered the daughter section knew he was close. Low and behold it was three down, stopping, choosing cards he began to read them.

The biggest and gaudiest were on the top, as he moved down they became smaller, cheaper, and less emotional. He read a few cards from each row and wasn’t fond of any. They had the same sentiment which touches the receiver’s heart. These cards are for people who couldn’t express themselves and used the words of the author to assist them.  A few ladies in the aisle were reading cards and he noticed they concentrated on each card. One woman had three cards in her hand and was still looking at others. It was obvious she had not made up her mind and would be here a lot longer. A man came strolling down the aisle, stopping next to the older man, reached up to the top row, grabbed a card, snagged the envelope, never looked inside, and walked toward the cashier. This got the older man thinking about how men and women pick cards. Women are very particular and often agonize over the choice, while men just want to have a card. Women read the words which are the heart of the card and men are more concerned with how they look. Men buy cards so they won’t have to listen to the receiver telling them they forgot. Women never forget and want to be praised for such a thoughtful choice. It is a rare occasion when women get a funny or off colored card for someone.

The older man always sent and received funny cards as he thought they were harder to choose. They usually had few words and often made fun of the person receiving them. Ironic, he seldom got his wife one of these cards, but always got everyone else one. When he received one of these beauties he would laugh, call the sender, and then they would laugh together.  It took a little while for his daughters to get use to his card ways, but now they would have it no other way, and complain to him how hard it is to find cards he didn’t already have.

The one rule he had when picking sentimental cards, was the simpler the better. Picking up a card with one red rose on a white background he began to read.  Under the rose, it simply stated: “to the one I love”. The inside read: “Happy Birthday, may your days be filled with serene music”.

As the older man paid for his card, he knew he had once again made the right choice.