A new way to say “Happy Birthday!”

I am reminded of a very funny story involving former New York Mets broadcaster (and coincidentally, Albany Senators home run hitter) Ralph Kiner.  In the middle of a Sunday broadcast, he remarked, “Today is Mother’s Day, so Happy Birthday to all the mothers out there.”

Happy birthday.  Ha ha ha…

For as long as I can remember, I would check my Facebook page, and Facebook would invariably mention that one of my friends was having a birthday today.  And I would type “Happy Birthday!” to that person, and that was that.

And, to be honest, it just felt so clinical.  You know, going through the motions, wishing someone a happy birthday with the same emphasis as one would use when tying their shoes.

A week or two ago, my friend Audley Stephenson had reached his birthday.  Audley works with the National Basketball League of Canada, same as me, and he’s in charge of promotional videos and the NBL podcast.  Every time I see him, he’s carrying his video camera and monopod.  Dude’s a good guy, he’s always got a positive attitude…

And it didn’t feel right to just mechanically give him a “Happy Birthday” Facebook message and  be on with my day.

My BlackBerry Q10 has a front-facing camera and it can record video…

I’ve got an idea.

Instead of just wishing Audman a typewritten “Happy Birthday” message…

What’s stopping me from recording a 30-second birthday greeeting?

And that’s what I did.

Now coincidentally, another Facebook friend of mine, Chuck Rushin (whom I blogged about in this post) was also celebrating his birth.  Well, if I did a video for Audley, why not do a video for Chuck Rushin as well?

And you know I did.

So from that point on, I decided… for at least the next year, every time one of my friends has a birthday, and if that birthday is visible on Facebook, then I will give them a 30-second birthday greeting.  Makes it more personable, shall we say.

Now because I “tagged” the birthday recipient in their video, I’m not able to repost the videos on this page due to each recipient’s privacy issues.  I am, however, able to provide links and you can see the videos, even if you don’t have a Facebook account.

Such as the birthday wishes to Alan Paul of the group Manhattan Transfer…

And to Jeff Shubert, who helped me win the championship chalice at Summer Bowl V…

And this morning, to Daniel Berman, he of the FUSSYlittleBLOG website…

And today, when I wished birthday greetings to former Vermont Frost Heaves basketball player John Kirk Bryant.

As I continue with these videos, I’ll try to get more creative.  Locations.  Situations.  Maybe even wearing a red nose or a fedora or something.

Maybe it’s just me being me… but I think that if you’re going to really wish someone a happy birthday, you’ll do it in a way that will give them a smile.

So if you are my Facebook friend and you have a birthday coming up… make sure you have your video settings coordinated. 🙂

Just sayin’ is all…