An old woman with three sons once approached her 100th birthday. Her sons, all quite successful, wanted to make her as happy as possible, and each went to great lengths to get her the most extravagant gift within their means.
The sons met later at a local bar, discussing their mother, and the conversation inevitably turned towards her birthday gifts.
"I got her an amazing present," remarked Jake, "and I'd hate to go first and make you guys seem anticlimactic!" The brothers insisted, however, and so with feigned reluctance Jake announced, "I bought her a limo... with a chauffeur!"
The two other brothers laughed at Jake. "I could top that easily," mocked Jim, "but I wouldn't want to spoil it for Jordan."
"You go first," said Jordan, "and if my gift's not more amazing than yours, I'll buy you both drinks!"
"Done," said Jim, always competitive, "I bought Mom a mansion! Top
that Jordan!"
"As you wish," said Jordan, smiling. He motioned brothers to lean in closer. "You know Mom's real religious, right? And how her eyesight's been failing her, so she can't read the Bible as much as she used to, right?"
Jake chuckled, "Jordan, if you got her one of those Bibles-on-tape, I'm afraid you owe us drinks. Unless by 'amazing' you meant 'amazingly
cheap'!"
Jordan grinned at Jake. "I'm not finished yet. Through some obscure contacts of mine, I've located a monastery home to the most dedicated order of monks in the Western Hemisphere. This monastery contains a unique bird: An extraordinarily intelligent parrot that has been trained its entire life by the monks. It can recite any verse of the Bible on command!"
The brothers were stunned and agreed that Jordan's gift was certainly the most unique, but Jim still claimed that it was Mom's decision and that Jordan wouldn't be off the hook until they could compare the thank-you notes. He'd get his chance soon enough, as the notes arrived the next week. Jake, somewhat upset by his gift's relative cheapness, opened his note with trepidation:
To whatever ingrate it may concern:
What were you thinking?! That was undoubtably the worst gift I have ever recieved in my entire life! I'm one hundred years old! I grew up as cars were invented! I've had my share of cars, and quite frankly I'm sick of them! And where would I even want to go!
~The woman who once called you "son," but no longer!
PS There was an incredibly rude man inside my car. What was he doing there?
Jim, meanwhile, was opening his own letter, confident that he would be the victor:
Dear John, or Jolee, or whatever your name was,
How could you be such an idiot? I'm one hundred years old! What's with this giant house?! I spend all my time in one room, but I still have to clean the entire thing! Perhaps in another hundred years, you'll be smart enough to get me something I'll actually use!
Sincerely,
Your mother
Jordan, meanwhile, went to his own mailbox, trembling with anticipation of his mother's gratefulness:
Dearest son,
Why is it that I only have one perfect child? You always know how to make me smile! I'm sorry if I have ever let you down in the past, but I'm glad to see I've raised such a sweet and caring son, and I'm bequeathing my entire fortune to you as you read this. Perhaps you will find some obscure use for the oversized estate or that crazy guy and his hearse-like car, but rest assured that delicious turkey you gave me has found its purpose!
With all my love,
Mom