Every day, my Dad would arrive at the restaurant by 6 AM, work the lunch rush, come home for a quick nap, return for the dinner hour (usually with a rubber chicken in his hand to entertain customers), then finally close the restaurant well past midnight. By the time my older sister, Beth, and I came home from school each day, my Dad was taking his well-deserved respite between the restaurant's lunch and dinner hours. At that time, we were assigned the dreaded chores, while my younger sister, Robin, practiced her A-B-Cs. Beth and I took turns performing the two most important daily chores: (1) shining my Dad's shoes; and, (2) putting double-sided adhesive tape onto my Dad's hairpiece (otherwise known to my Dad as his "rug"). Even though it was chore that did not require a lot of time nor skill, it was...well, gross since we had to remove the old, sweaty tape prior to replacing it with fresh tape. Eventually, my Dad noticed that I became a champ at spit-shining shoes, so I was relieved of "rug duty" and permanently put on shoe shine duty. What a fortunate talent that came in handy, well noticed during inspections when I joined the Army later in life.
When I launched my business in 2009, I wanted an icon within the company logo to have a huge smile, since I've always believed that my purpose in life was to make people laugh. I sketched a few ideas and made a conscious effort not to draw a head similar to the beret-wearing "Jake" associated with "Life is Good". One idea was a fun, round smiley wearing a baseball cap, but then I heard my Grandma's voice in my head saying, "Take that hat off! You're going to be bald like your father someday." With that said, I erased the ball cap and replaced it with my Dad's hairpiece. How appropriate since my Dad was the definition of laughter! I remember riding roller coasters at Kennywood Park with my Dad (even though he was not permitted due to his heart condition) and he would wave his hairpiece in the air while speeding down spine-tingling drops. And so, the secret is out...the smiley within my company logo represents pure fun and my Dad's rug, riding the wave as the tape did not hold down the Jack Rabbit's 70-foot, double-dip drop!
In the end, my Dad's entrepreneurial spirit lives within me through "The Simple Laugh", and this is my way of giving back to him, especially today as I tell this story on his birthday. I lost my Dad in 2002 to heart disease. He was only 61 years old. What I wouldn't give to be on "rug duty" just one more time.
Happy birthday, Dad!
All of my love,
~The "son" you always wanted...Jodi
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| Bottoms of the "Tequila Jo's" Pint Glasses deep-etched with the company smiley. For more details, go to: http://www.thesimplelaugh.com/Novelties.html |
