A couple of weeks ago, my mother asked me to help her plan a birthday party for my father. She wanted to hold it at a Destin Steakhouse,( link) that my father loved. My dad owns local photography studio in Destin Florida, so my thought was that we should some of his favorite photographers to create collages of his life. I thought they would be a nice way to decorate the steakhouse.My mother agreed. We only had one problem – how to contact any of the photographers without my dad knowing what we were doing.

I figured a little bit of subterfuge was needed. I began by dropping by the photography studio at odd times during the day, hoping that my dad would not be around and I could talk to at least one photographer. It never seemed to work. Each and every time I stopped by, dad was there. I started running out of excuses as to why I was there. I ended up convincing my father I was trying to design a webpage for his photography studio and wanted to talk with his coworkers in order to ensure the website had a decent amount of search engine optimization. I wanted all their specialties and personal information.

Of course, dad thought that was a great idea. I ended up sitting there for hours, listening to rattle on and on about the studio and photography.I should have taken notes.

Eventually I got to sit down with a couple of the photographers and explained my ruse. They were happy to help me out. We arranged to meet the night before the party so I could collect the collages.

They turned out great. His employees did an awesome job. They even created a couple life sized pictures of my dad. We brought them over to the steakhouse and placed them around the banquet room. They were a really nice touch and I was pleased I had managed to get them finished in time for the party.

The day of the party was a perfect Destin day. Nice weather and blue skies seemed like an omen for a perfect party. As I was putting up last minute decorations, one of the photographers from the studio showed up a little early. He had some bad news for me. It seems my father was convinced I had asked him to meet me at the steakhouse so I could unveil his new website on my laptop.

Now, not only did I have no time, I actually know nothing about web design or search engine optimization so I was really in a pickle. My dad expected a website for his birthday and I did not even have a present for him. I was kicking myself for not listening to his lecture about his photography studio. What was I going to do?

At the end of the day, I gave him a gift certificate to have his website designed. We had a good laugh at my little white lie and dad had a great party. Next time, I will keep my ‘ruse’ a little simpler.
And guess what? one of my father friends turned to be a very nice young guy.. I may try to see him again..
The only problem I may have is that besides his first name ( Matthew ) and his web address I have no idea where to find him.Wish me luck!