When It Comes to My Birthday, I Think Pepperidge Farms

You would think having a birthday in early June would be a fun thing.  And by and large it is, but when I was a boy, having my birthday in early June seemed more of an extra thing on the busy schedule than anything else.  The school year was always wrapping up (we usually got out around June 8 then).  And then, pretty much right away, my family would hit the road for the annual family vacation.  How did that affect my birthday?  

Well, one year, Mom decided there was no point in baking a cake for my birthday because we were just going to go out of town in a day or two anyway.  

There would be no time to eat it all before we went on vacation, and what was left would just go rotten sitting in the refrigerator for the week or two that we were gone.  

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So Mom hit on the idea of buying me a Pepperidge Farms frozen cake for my birthday.  I had my choice of chocolate or white.  Whatever was in the freezer case.  We did it in 1970 when we went on vacation to Washington DC.  And again in 1971 when we went to Cedar Point.  And in 1972 and 1973 when we went to Florida each year.  And again in 1974 when we moved.  By the time 1975 came around, it had become an unintended fun family tradition.  Chocolate, White, German Chocolate, Cocoanut.  It seems like we hit them all through the years.  So even though we weren’t going off on vacations much anymore, the Pepperidge Farms cakes continued.   I believe one year when I was grown up and it was just Mom and I we even had a carrot cake.  

For the couple years in college when I spent the day away from home, I would go out and buy one for myself.  

When I was a kid, I remember feeling somewhat shortchanged by the whole Pepperidge Farms thing.  But, eventually, I came to see that it added a special wrinkle to an already special day.  Even now, it brings a smile to my face and makes a fun story to tell.  

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So the next time you are wondering how to add some spice to your birthday, try a Pepperidge Farms cake.   And add a large scoop of ice cream!

And thanks for the memory, Mom!

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Other Famous People Born on June 6
Robert Englund (Freddie in Nightmare on Elm Street)
Thomas Mann (author)
Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter actor)
Paul Giamatti (actor)
Harvey Fierstein (actor)
Aaron Sorkin (writer/producer)
V.C. Andrews (author)
Lasse Hallstrom (director)
Aldo Costa (F1 designer)