As Is Usually The Way With Jim, His First Romantic Birthday Ideas Were A Bit Grandiose. He Had The Romantic Birthday Gift Idea Of Sweeping Brenda Away To A Far Off Island, And Regaling Her With Presents. When I Pointed Out To Him That She Had A Busy Work Schedule That Could Not Afford To Grant Her A Couple Weeks Off, And That He Did Not Have The Money To Go Through With His Plan Anyway, He Did Not Get Angry. He Was A Sport About It. He Asked Me What My Advice About The Perfect Romantic Birthday Idea Was.I Know A Whole Lot About Brenda. After All, She Was My Friend Long Before Jim New Her. But For The Life Of Me, I Could Not Think Of What Romantic Birthday Ideas Will Appeal To Her The Most. You See, Brenda Is A Pretty Straightforward Gal. She Is Practically Minded, And Not All That Romantic. At The Same Time, However, She Does Love To Know That Whoever She Is With Is Paying Attention To Her And Wants To Give Her Presents. It Is Not A Matter Of Wanting Things From The Person So Much As Wanting To Be Thought About. For Brenda, I Figured That The Most Romantic Birthday Ideas Would Be Ones That Addressed Her Other Interests To Show That Jim Cared About Her As A Person.When I Told Jim This, He Immediately Dropped Most Of His Romantic Gift Ideas. He Would Not Get Her Roses Or New Clothes, No Matter How Attractive. Instead, He Realized That The Most Romantic Birthday Ideas For Her Were Books. He Would Get Her Several Works Of Fiction By Authors She Liked. I Don't Know If This Strategy Is The Reason That They're Still Together, But It Worked. Three Years Later, They Are Thinking Of Getting Married.
