McDonald's Birthday Party − 13 March, 1982
This is a pretty memerable day. It was my birthday after all. I can remember wanting a McDonald's birthday for a while and my parents were, I sensed, a little relucatant. So I exaggerated the need in the months prior to my birthday.
So we woke up on the day of my birthday, which also happened to be a weekend day and all piled in the car. I didn't know where we were going, but it was clear that it was a birthday thing. So my parents blindfolded me and started driving through our neighborhood. They were try to tease me with anticipation by taking all kinds of crazy routes driving up and down streets. Well I was too smart for that. We got to our destination and before pulling off my blindfold they asked me if I knew where we were.
"McDonald's!" I shouted.
I think my parents were more annoyed with me getting the answer right than amazed that I would know in the first place. When you have McDonald's on the mind 24-7 it's hardly a feat to guess correctly.
The birthday party was a surprise though. All of my friends were there: Michael Hagesfeld, Madison Brooks, Eric Ancker are the names that stick out. We had cake and they roped off an entire section of the restaurant for us. I can remember getting a monopoly set from one of my friends. Then a few gifts later I got another monopoly set from Michael Hagesfeld. I told him somewhat sweetly, "Michael, I already got a Monopoly set, so if you want to keep this one that's fine by me." My dad we irate though. He thought I was looking a gift-horse in the mouth, as it were. He grabbed me by the arm and took me outside and yelled at me. I was crying and upset and didn't want to come back in and open the rest of my gifts. I must have gotten over it soon though, because what I remember most about the day was playing in the woodchips, sand and dirt outside in the playland. Playlands were a pretty new concept back then and we all thought we had the coolest neighborhood because there was a playland at our McDonald's.
Comments:
moby (September 19, 2006. 08:51pm)
I never had my own, but I was invited to many. I once had a burger paid for me buy my mates dad. I didn't like it and stuck it in the bin, on the sly, he found it and got quite mad. "Why didn't you eat it?!?" I felt really bad and didn't say anything. I was only about 6 or 7 at the time. Good 'ol Maccy D's.
Oblivious (January 31, 2007. 02:35am)
Sounds like every birthday party I've ever had.
kga245 (January 31, 2007. 05:32pm)
Uh oh.