A Box Full of Ticket Stubs

What do you want for your birthday?

My answer to that question has changed over the past three decades. It used to be all about toys and electronics. My wish list was full of expensive gadgets I had no chance of getting. As I’ve gotten older, I want less stuff and more experiences.

Last Saturday I turned thirty-eight. It was a great birthday. Caleb, my nine-year-old son, and I spent the day in downtown Atlanta. We rode the MARTA train into the heart of the city. Our first stop was the Georgia Aquarium where we touched rays and little sharks and saw Piranha, Sea Dragons, and Sawfish. Caleb surprised me with his knowledge. We’d walk up to a tank and see a new fish and I would wonder aloud what kind it was and Caleb would tell me.

“How did you know that?”

“I know my fish.” He said as he walked to the next tank.

After a full morning at the aquarium we went looking for lunch. As we exited I noticed a fresh seafood restaurant next door. I pointed it out to Caleb. He was less amused by its proximity than I.

We followed Yelp’s advice and found a hamburger joint named “Googie Burger.” With a name like “Googie” you know there is nothing healthy on the menu and we didn’t care. I ordered the Pig Burger as a birthday treat. It was two patties topped with bacon, smoked pork, cheese and smothered in sauce. It was greasy and good. Each bite required a new napkin.

Caleb got a kids meal served on a Frisbee. It was a nice burger and a huge serving of fries. He was convinced it was a whole potato. He said, “I think they took an entire potato and cut it up and gave it to me. What were they thinking?”

Afterward, he begged for ice cream. I told him no. “But it’s your birthday!” he said. The notion that he was entitled to ice cream because it was my birthday was irresistible. I sent him back to Googies with a five dollar bill. I can’t believe I sent him by himself. It must have been the lack of oxygenated blood making it to my brain after eating the pig burger. Letting Caleb go order his own ice cream is like asking a dope fiend to do inventory in a pharmacy.

After a few minutes, I walked over to check on things. He had ordered a cup of ice cream with six toppings. Why six? Because that’s all they had on the menu. The guy behind the counter had to go check with his manager to see if it was even possible. No one had ever ordered such a thing before. They figured out a way to make it happen.

Caleb wasted no time. He finished before all of those toppings could slide down the mountain of ice cream like an avalanche. When he looked up from his empty bowl his face was painted with a suicide mixture of sauces. He looked like a circus clown in need of a pressure washer.

From there, we made our way over to the Coca Cola experience. Did you know that Coca Cola was invented in Atlanta? Neither did I. Did you know that Coca Cola has changed the world as we know it into a happier place? Neither did I. Did you know that when you open up a Coke you’re one step closer to solving all of your problems? Neither did I. But for the price of admission the good folks at Coca Cola will flood you with syrupy good propaganda for as long as you can stomach it. Caleb’s favorite part of the tour was the tasting room where we sampled Coke products from all over the world. We probably drank a gallon of happiness, which could easily be confused with insulin shock.

After the Coca Cola experience, we caught the train and headed back to our room. Along the way, I watched Caleb. We were both tired, but his eyes remained as wide as ever as he scanned the cityscape. The golden beams from the evening sun bounced off his freckled cheeks. His face glowed with joy. When he asked me for all the ticket stubs from all the things we had done that day, I asked him why he wanted them.

“I want to keep them,” was his response.

That’s when I knew that we both felt the same way about our day together. We had made a memory and he was collecting souvenirs.

What do I want for my birthday? Even though my next one is a year away, I can already tell you what is at the top of my wish list.

I want a box full of ticket stubs.

What ticket stubs are in your box?