Birthday 1

Mrs. Myrtle Standich* attended a birthday party in honor of Mr. William (Billy) Post, age 2. The theme: Bob the Builder. The decor: a little tacky, by Mrs. Standich's account. For theme parties, imagination is better than over-saturation. You'd be surprised by how much you can accomplish with a couple of plastic construction helmets and some streamers. You don't need more fake cardboard vehicles than real chairs.

Abstract over realism. There shouldn't be a ratio of 1 Bob lifesize cutout to 1 guest. That's not even a real-life situation. It's the theme of some sci-fi world where Bob the Builder clones overpopulate the earth and make everyone uncomfortable. In real life, there'd only be one Bob the Builder and he'd probably be too busy working to come to a two year old's birthday party. That's realism. And it would break the heart of Mr. William Post, not to mention all his peers.

*It is important to note that whilst Myrtle Standich's memoirs are written in the third person, they occured in the first.