Bowling for Birthdays

I have just returned from a birthday party for one of my students (and his twin brother) at a bowling alley in Garland. This is the same bowling alley where Kev and I went for our anniversary, only this time it was full of people and quite smokey. I am surprised that people are still allowed to smoke in bowling alleys, but apparently it's true. Anyway, it's a pretty cool place for a birthday party. The kids got to bowl for an hour, and then they got pizza and cake. The coolest part was that the birthday boys each got a real bowling pin to take home, which all their friends autographed. If I was allowed to give Kev a surprise party, I would do it at the bowling alley. He likes bowling. But I think somewhere in our wedding vows, I promised there would be no surprise parties.

My brother and I were talking the other day about kids and birthday parties. Kids these days (boy, is that an old person way to start a sentence or what!) have big elaborate parties every stinking year. Bowling alleys, skating rinks, Build-a-Bear, Paint yer Pottery, etc., not to mention the kind of party which you have at home with some kind of big rented production, like a bounce-house. I know some kids that had a whole freaking petting zoo at their house! This stuff ain't cheap. When I was a kid, my cousins came over on my birthday and we ate cake, and if it was a special birthday, there was Pin the Tail on the Donkey. And that was OK with me.

Maybe that's my ticket to a million dollars and my Alaskan adventure! I can be the Kids Birthday Party Guru (Gurette?). There are plenty of rich lazy people around who could use such a service. I better get to work on this...