My Birthday Surprise: Humorous for Adults

Following is the entire text of the story. The words in red represent the personalized information.

My Birthday Surprise

was created especially for

Brian Edward Smith

at the age of 40

With Love From,

Lara

December 29, 2004

Yes, it was birthday time again, December 29th. Brian Smith of Des Plaines, had reached yet another major plateau in his life - age 40.

Brian was a high flier, a born leader, and a man of many accomplishments. There was no doubt about it - Brian was a legend in his own mind.

Doug, John and Bill had planned a big birthday bash for Brian this year. Hand-written invitations had been sent to all his friends.

Fortunately for Doug, John and Bill, the job had been very easy. Only a few invitations had to be written.

Doug, John and Bill had spent a lot of time developing a theme for this special birthday party. It was Brian Smith

The ten keys to success

in your life

Obviously, the theme was a very popular one. The party room was packed.

Doug, John and Bill started his success story by explaining that the path Brian had followed through life had been met with a series of closed doors. Over the years, judging from the shape of his beak, many of these doors had been slammed in his face.

Despite these setbacks, Brian had still managed to become a success in Des Plaines. It was evident that these ten keys had worked a miracle for Brian.

Brian and the rest of the party group were quiet when Doug, John and Bill announced the first key to his success.

"Always be full of hot air."

Brian had devoted much of his life to achieving this goal. Those who knew him agreed that he was definitely full of it.

The second key of success was

"Stay young."

Brian maintained his youthful appearance by following a strict exercise program. His favorite activity seemed to be jogging to the refrigerator.

Unfortunately, staying young was difficult after 40 birthday celebrations. In fact, lighting the candles on his birthday cake was considered a fire hazard for Brian and everyone else present at the party.

Believing that

"No mountain is too hard to climb"

was another component of the success formula for Brian.

Anyone who had ever seen Brian demolish a mountain of ice cream topped with whipped cream and a cherry realized the truth of this statement. He could whittle it down in seconds.

The fourth key was a critical factor in making Brian the success he is.

"Surround yourself with intelligent,

responsible people."

Brian always kept snapshots of his trusted friends in his wallet. Come to think of it, that was about all you could ever find in his wallet!

The excitement of the party had almost been too much for everyone. They decided to briefly interrupt this spell-binding "Success Story" and have Brian open his many gifts.

Nobody had trouble buying Brian a present. After all, what can't you buy for a man who needs everything?

After watching Brian open his gifts, the anxious crowd was eager to hear the fifth key to his success. It was

Don't be a horse's ... behind.

Unfortunately, Brian couldn't help himself. It was just his nature.

The saga of Brian continued. The next key to his success was

"Enjoy the sweet things in life."

There are many sweet things in life: the presence of a wonderful companion, adventure-filled vacations and lots of money.

Whenever Brian wanted to enjoy sweet things, he went to his pantry. This was the only source of sweet things for Brian.

The seventh key was vitally important for social climbers like Brian:

"Don't forget from whence

you came."

On his long climb up the ladder of success, Brian never once forgot his roots. He was so very proud of all his ancestors.

To really be successful, you must

"Only play games you can win."

Talented individuals like Brian pride themselves on their athletic and business prowess. Very few adults had ever beaten Brian at any of his favorite games. Everybody knew he would have a temper tantrum if they did.

"Blow your own horn"

was certainly another vital part of his success formula.

Everyone agreed that if Brian didn't blow his own horn, nobody would do it for him. In fact, he kept stacks of horns and whistles handy for all the important moments in his life. Brian would do almost anything to call attention to himself!

Brian always maintained that, to be successful, you must

"Picture yourself as you want to be."

Brian thought that once he was successful, his portrait would be hung in the homes of all of his friends.

Dear Brian:

Now you know the ten keys to the success in your life. We had originally planned to have you say a few words, but we remembered that brevity is not one of your ten keys.

Congratulations on yet another "successful" year. Happy Birthday!

Lara

December 29, 2004

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• Quality, hard-cover personalized children's book
• Washable hard cover
• Fully illustrated color pages
• 36 pages
• Measures 6 3/4" x 8 1/4"