Happy Birthday to all the August babies out there! Since this is also my birthday month, I wanted to start the celebration early. We will be taking a walk through the NFL Hall of Fame and hearing some stories from your personal Gift Hall of Fame. If you haven’t sent me your “best gift ever” story, please keep them coming at giftqb@yahoo.com.
GOING OUT ON A HIGH NOTE
John Elway might be my favorite quarterback of all time. Not just because he was a nine-time Pro Bowler, a season MVP, and won two championships. John is my favorite because he retired at the highest possible time in his career. John is actually a perfect example of George Costanza’s (from the sitcom Seinfeld) “going out on a high note”. His last game on the field was his second consecutive Super Bowl win. It doesn’t get any better than that!
To kick-off the “best gift ever” series, I wanted to share a personal story of my own. There is no question that this is the best gift I have ever given. My mother worked for United Airlines for 28 years. When it became time for her to retire she had an office party (that was shared with several other retirees). I couldn’t imagine her not retiring in a more grand fashion, especially since this had been the job that made possible a trip to Disneyland for my 5th birthday and a trip to Paris for my 13th birthday (and almost every other family vacation). Her last day on the job was her actual birthday (since that was the first time she had both the age and tenure needed to retire). My family decided to throw her a surprise birthday party at a local restaurant and we hired a limousine to take her directly there following her last day. As a special touch and the “John Elway moment”, I hired two musicians to play the herald trumpets outside while she exited the building for the last time. Her coworkers cheered and she began to cry. My mother will always remember that day and it was also one of the best moments of my life.
Hopefully, the gifts you hear about this month will give you some great new ideas. Feel free to claim them as your own. I won’t tell! You’re the quarterback; I’m just here to protect you.
Gift Quarterback 
Very nice. My Dad had a job that took us overseas and because of it we were able to visit so many different countries and places that my wife gets sick of hearing me say (when some place shows up on the TV or in a magazine) “Oh, I’ve been there.”
I wish I’d thought of something like that when my dad retired.