Happy Birthday, Georgia

I went to lunch with Jimmy Huston and one of his daughters, Georgia. Jimmy took a package to post before lunch. I said that he didn't need any stamps and suggested he simply leave it on the street. Some kind soul would deliver it or mail it.

I went to lunch with Jimmy Huston and one of his daughters, Georgia.

Jimmy took a package to post before lunch.

I said that he didn’t need any stamps and suggested he simply leave it on the street. Some kind soul would deliver it or mail it.

Georgia rolled her eyes.

I told her that when I was in London many years ago I met a man who paid his bills in a wacky way. He placed the bills and checks in envelopes, sealed them and then tossed them out of his second story window.

They would float down onto the busy sidewalk.

He said people always picked up his envelopes and either hand delivered them or bought stamps and mailed them.

Georgia did not believe this and Jimmy registered grave doubts.

Since Georgia was going to be 12 soon, I bought an envelope, put a few pieces of paper in it, then addressed and sealed it and threw it on an outside table by a Ventura Boulevard restaurant.

Here is a photo of my handiwork (I whited-out her address). I also made it look like a Birthday Card from some of her friends:

hbd-1

You will note that the above envelope has a stamp. And it is canceled. (When I tossed the envelope on the table there was no stamp. The original of course had Georgia’s full address. I don’t publish kids’ addresses in my column.)

The next day, Georgia called (very excited) and said that someone had picked up the envelope and put a stamp on it, mailed it, and the post office had canceled it and delivered it to her home.

She couldn’t believe it.

Here is the other side of the envelope. You will note that the good Samaritan wrote something along the bottom of the envelope:

hbd-2

Here is what the stranger wrote:

“I found your card on the street. It’s my birthday too. So I put a stamp on it & mailed it!”

Isn’t that amazing?

If you happen to work for CSI you would note that the postmark is Santa Clarita. Here is a map between Sherman Oaks and Santa Clarita. It’s a distance of over 21 miles.

That letter traveled somewhere between fifty to one hundred miles, even though it was dropped on a table three blocks from Georgia’s house.

That’s almost as amazing.

But the most amazing part of this story is how great Georgia looks when she’s pitching.

She wins a lot of games for her team. And the boys who bat on the other team are all frightened of her.

They’ll get over that soon.

hbd-3

Send Georgia a note and ask if I’m telling the truth.  You could even wish her a belated Happy Birthday.

Her e-mail is georgia@jaronbs.com

Photo by Jimmy Huston © 2005

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Jaron Summers wrote dozens of primetime television and radio programs, including those for HBO, CBS, ACCESS TV and CBC. He conceived the TV and Film Institute of Canada. Funded by the University of Alberta and ITV, Jaron ran the Institute for 12 years, donating his services for a decade.

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