A. I dislike some jagoff marketer using my name in an attempt to buddy up to me when I have never used their services.
B. The gall they have in sending this to people when they have no idea if Dad is even around. My father died when I was 3 1/2 years old, and I grew up with the stepmonster that beat me, whipped me bloody (no exaggeration), and made me feel like a piece of crap on his shoe when I was a child. THAT sad excuse for a human being is still drawing breath. At least my mother finally got up the courage to kick his abusive ass out when I was 13.
I always felt left out that I never had a father to play ball with, to teach me to fish and watch football with, just a big, scary monster that told me how stupid I was and who would slap me into a corner for looking at him wrong.
I HATE Father’s Day. To y’all who have living dads who love you, please give them a hug from me.
Sorry goboy, but you’re doing proflowers a disservice These days, companies try to cater for every kind of father/(step)son relationship. If you look at their website, you can now arrange to have a triffid delivered to your stepdad.
Find the executives in charge of proflowers.com and let them know this. It may not make any difference in their behavior, but it’ll make YOU feel better. Also, find their internet server and file a complaint against them—a lot of them have spam abuse hotlines.
:: Miss Davis makes mental note never, ever, Ever to buy from Proflowers.com, not that I would have anyway ::
I hate that first name to cozy up technique too. What’s worse is that my (real) email uses my first and middle initials (and I often do IRL too), so companies spamming me assume I’m a man and randomly assign me a male first name. The GALL!!!
I can’t imagine how upsetting it would be to be constantly reminded of the loss of someone I cared for, especially by a stupid company trying to sell me something. That’s a classic example of the crass, insensitive marketing style so common today, and it would be a good idea to respond to this sort of thing with “My (insert targeted recipient here) is no longer living, and I would appreciate being removed from your list” emails. I agree with Eve; take your complaint to the highest execs you can find and let them know of your displeasure. If enough people did that, maybe it would stop.
You have another point though. Those of us who are blessed to still have kind, loving parents should appreciate them. My own dad’s never been a driving force in my life, but in his way, he’s always supported me in whatever I was doing, and he’ll come through for me in a crisis. I am lucky to have him, even though our relationship is not close. I’ll send my dad a thank you hug in your honor. Thanks for reminding me.
I know this is the pit, and we’re not supposed to be saying kind things, but I’m sorry for the grief those monkey fuckers caused you. (hey, at least I’m using foul language!)
And yes, I’ll be sure to hug my Dad this Fathers Day.
goboy, IIRC you are in the DC area? Heck! Come on over and we’ll go fishing and play catch. Not that I’m such a great teacher, and not that you haven’t learned how on your own, but, gosh, playing catch is something everyone should do. It truly sucks that you didn’t have that opportunity growing up. Hell, it sucks that any chance of that opportunity was ripped away by Senor Skidmark.
You can share some of my dad. He’s wonderful enough to go around.
About the spam thing, Eve, as usual, has a great suggestion. Now ask her what to do if you hear someone yelling their phone number into a cell phone.
You mean I could send a bouquet of triffids to my step-father? Oh JOY!!!
goboy: I hear what you are saying loud and clear. I just lost my father this past February 26th(the day before my 30th birthday), and the step-father still draws breath.
I also got the same e-mail you did. Perhaps if we are cranky together, someone will listen.
goboy, from my point of view of hoping to someday be just like my father, it makes me sad to hear what a shit bag your step-fucker was. I’m thinking of sending a preemptive “no spam, please” to Proflowers, just in supportive protest.
As for Fathers Day, if anyone is in the Banff area and sees a motorhome with Ohio plates and lots of little stuffed animals on the front dash (it’s a Safari thing) going by on it’s way to Alaska, way hello to my folks, would you?
goboy, I’m sorry to hear that you were deprived of what it means to have a father. Take out your frustrations on proflowers.com - it’ll make you feel better.
I spent almost my entire weekend in Walt Disney World thinking how much I wished my dad was with me, and I ended up buying him all kinds of stuff for Father’s Day, Christmas, and his birthday. My father is getting older, and went through bladder cancer (fortunately came through with flying colors), so there are plenty of times when I think of when I’ll be without him. For those that have, appreciate, if you can.
goboy, that just sucks. I idolize and adore my father, and I will be sure to tell him exactly that, no matter what. It’s not enough to just assume he knows.
If you ARE in the market for a loaner dad, think about mine. A real renaissance man- loves country-western music but sings Mozart’s Lacrymosa with the church choir; took his little girl camping, fishing and hiking when she could barely walk; has had season tickets to our local award-winning repertory theater for over 20 years; wants to teach my 19 month old son how to surf; was just as proud of his actress daughter as he would have been if she was a doctor; a mostly self-made man with his own business; and when he found out about my alcoholism & drug addiction, he put aside his old prejudices and educated himself, becoming one of my sobriety’s most vocal supporters.
Mine’s a hell of a guy, I know yours was too. I wish he was still around.
Best revenge?..
Be a better Man than him!
It won’t matter that he can’t SEE that you’re better; that YOU KNOW IT is the thing.
I’ve spent the last 23 Father’s Days in a funk 'cuz my Dad died shortly after Christmas in 1978. And he’d spent most of my adolescent life in and out of hospitals, being treated for various cancers. So, even though we didn’t do much physical stuff together like throw a football, go hiking, or play tennis; he surely loved to watch me compete.
As for those “male parents” (the term “Dad” or “Father”, to me, is reserved for those who earn it) who take joy in excercising power and control over their children with
physical violence and mental abuse; here’s my advice…
If I see you do that, I’ll hurt you.
Seriously.
<certainly not in front of your children, but I’ll bide my time.>
Then, the police and children’s services will deal with you.
But, only after I’m done.
Oh, and even though I realize this is “the Pit”, I know that I haven’t written any swear words. I’ve given it up for the benefit of my 8 month-old son. So…
