# Ohcrapohcrapohcrap. Help! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 26, 2006, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohcrapohcrapohcrap-help/354292 "2006-04-26T13:42:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2006, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohcrapohcrapohcrap-help/354292/1 "2006-04-26T13:42:59Z")
This morning I got an e-mail from a good friend of mine. _Oh,_ I thought, _her birthday is coming up, isn’t it? Let’s see, her birthday is my birthday (September 26) combined with my dad’s birthday (April 15) . . . April 26 . . . that’s today. HOLY CRAP I TOTALLY FORGOT MY DAD’S BIRTHDAY!_ :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack: Aargh, how could I have done that? I didn’t call him or send him a present or anything. And now that I’m eleven days late, what the hell can I do to make up for it? I’ll call him today, but getting him on the phone is a crap shoot, since he works third shift and sleeps most of the day. Aw, man, I feel like crap. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![TwoOnSunday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@TwoOnSunday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoOnSunday)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2006, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohcrapohcrapohcrap-help/354292/2 "2006-04-26T14:16:50Z")
> [@The Weird One](#): > > I’ll call him today, but getting him on the phone is a crap shoot, since he works third shift and sleeps most of the day. Aw, man, I feel like crap. ☹ Use that against him - tell him that you tried to get a hold of him but weren’t able to 🙂 Then, buy him a really great gift to clear your conscience. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2006, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohcrapohcrapohcrap-help/354292/3 "2006-04-26T14:20:43Z")
Splain the truth and get him something really nice. What does he like? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2006, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohcrapohcrapohcrap-help/354292/4 "2006-04-26T14:30:09Z")
Tell him not to pay the ransom…you escaped. Then wish him a happy birthday. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2006, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohcrapohcrapohcrap-help/354292/5 "2006-04-26T16:46:35Z")
Take him out to a helluva nice dinner or invite him to a barbecue or something. And a plasma TV. Plasma cleanses all sins. (BTW, my birthday also happens to be September 26th) ---
**Author:** ![Improv\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b3f665/32.png) [@Improv\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improv_Geek)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2006, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohcrapohcrapohcrap-help/354292/6 "2006-04-26T16:58:19Z")
1. Take a few deep breaths 2. Realize that your panic is because you’re sincerely sorry 3. Call your dad and wish him a happy belated birthday, apologize profusely. 4. When he tells you to stop apologizing, apologize some more. This shows him you’re being sincere about it. 5. Realize that this sort of thing happens and that life goes on afterward. 6. Get him a serious and heartfelt gift. 7. Mark his birthday early on next year’s calendar to make sure you don’t forget again 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2006, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohcrapohcrapohcrap-help/354292/7 "2006-04-26T17:20:29Z")
Thanks for the advice. I’ll try calling later this evening, when he wakes up for dinner. **Mindfield** , I’m afraid I can’t invite him to anything, because we live halfway across the country. Unfortunately, I can’t afford much of a gift, either, because in mid-June there’s this awful collision of two graduations, three birthdays and Father’s Day, plus Mother’s Day between then and now. I was thinking about a Burpee gift certificate, though - Dad loves his gardening. And on the plus side, I found some great rates on airline tickets for my weeklong visit to Dad’s place in early September. ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohcrapohcrapohcrap-help/354292/8 "2006-04-26T18:01:40Z")
I’ve said this before, but most dads don’t _really_ want a dutiful child, they want a loving one. Call him up and tell him you’re sorry you missed his birthday. Ask him if it’s okay to let his present wait until your income/outgo balance stabilizes. Then talk to him a while. Tell him about something you did recently that you’re proud of. Tell him about a problem you had the other day that you could fix because of something he taught you. Tell him about the group of friends to whom you told one of his jokes, and how they all laughed. Tell him you saw something on TV last week that involved one of his interests (gardening, maybe) and to your surprise you found it really interesting. Assure him that you’re safe and happy: dads can’t hear this enough. Remind him that you were both once young, and that he taught you well, and show him that a least a small part of the world is better as a result. You sound like a perfectly good kid, **The Weird One** , but somebody forgot to tell you: relax – it ain’t the calendar he wants you to remember. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohcrapohcrapohcrap-help/354292/9 "2006-04-27T03:59:03Z")
> [@The Weird One](#): > > her birthday is my birthday (September 26) combined with my dad’s birthday (April 15) . . . April 26 I seem to be the only one completely befuddled by this: how does September 26 + April 15 = April 26? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohcrapohcrapohcrap-help/354292/10 "2006-04-27T04:29:48Z")
Weird One; Your Dad probably doesn’t even care about the birthday thing. The older we get the less “special” days seem to mean to us. Just call him, chat, and maybe mention the bd and say that the date just slipped your mind. (Take all of this with a grain of salt because sinjin was married for 8 years before figuring out MrSin’s birthday was 4/4 not 3/3 :wally , and don’t even ask the sinkids about birthday parties 5 months after the fact. Also don’t think about the time sinjin was talking with MrSin, who was out of town on a work thingie, and we both hung up and several hours later realized it was our 18th anniversary :eek: ) Chill, you love him, he loves you, that’s all that counts. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohcrapohcrapohcrap-help/354292/11 "2006-04-27T13:22:30Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > I seem to be the only one completely befuddled by this: how does September 26 + April 15 = April 26? 😕 It’s his birth month and my birth day. I’m terrible at remembering . . . well, lots of things, birthdays included, so this was a handy mneumonic trick for my friend’s birthday. Even though I don’t need it anymore, I can’t think of her birthday without it popping into my head. I called Dad yesterday after work and left a message with my stepbrother. Dad called me back later, and we talked for a while. I appologized for forgetting his birthday, but as some of you predicted, he didn’t care. “That’s not something you should have to worry about,” he said. I think I might get him a combined birthday-Father’s Day present. I always told myself that, once I got on my feet financially, I’d buy him a cider press, and I think I can get a small one for $50. ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohcrapohcrapohcrap-help/354292/12 "2006-04-27T13:25:13Z")
> [@The Weird One](#): > > Aw, man, I feel like crap. ☹ My birthday was on the 1st and I didn’t get a card from you either. You are a real piece of work… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohcrapohcrapohcrap-help/354292/13 "2006-04-27T13:51:51Z")
> [@FordPrefect](#): > > My birthday was on the 1st and I didn’t get a card from you either. You are a real piece of work… 😛 [April fool!](http://www.comics.com/comics/arlonjanis/archive/arlonjanis-20060403.html)🙂 ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohcrapohcrapohcrap-help/354292/14 "2006-04-27T13:52:27Z")
> [@The King of Soup](#): > > I’ve said this before, but most dads don’t _really_ want a dutiful child, they want a loving one. > > Call him up and tell him you’re sorry you missed his birthday. Ask him if it’s okay to let his present wait until your income/outgo balance stabilizes. Then talk to him a while. Tell him about something you did recently that you’re proud of. Tell him about a problem you had the other day that you could fix because of something he taught you. Tell him about the group of friends to whom you told one of his jokes, and how they all laughed. Tell him you saw something on TV last week that involved one of his interests (gardening, maybe) and to your surprise you found it really interesting. Assure him that you’re safe and happy: dads can’t hear this enough. Remind him that you were both once young, and that he taught you well, and show him that a least a small part of the world is better as a result. > > You sound like a perfectly good kid, **The Weird One** , but somebody forgot to tell you: relax – it ain’t the calendar he wants you to remember. Excellent advice! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2006, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohcrapohcrapohcrap-help/354292/15 "2006-04-27T20:01:07Z")
[When in doubt, lie.](http://www.theonion.com/content/node/39332)😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2006, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ohcrapohcrapohcrap-help/354292/16 "2006-04-28T03:35:15Z")
Thanks - you just reminded me that I have two birthdays coming up in the next 9 days!