Friday, January 9, 2009Christmas isn’t the only time for gift-giving. Just yesterday, I booked 2 non-refundable tickets to Las Vegas in honor of Kenny G’s birthday next month. I didn’t check with him beforehand, I just booked the tickets and hotel room online.
You see, Kenny G. is the type of guy who never commits. He gives me the same song and dance every time I invite him anywhere. It goes like this:
JAKE: “Hey, Kenny G! I am having a party on Saturday. Wanna come?”
KENNY G: “This Saturday?”
JAKE: “Yeah. 7:00pm”
KENNY G: “Hmmm… Let me check with my wife and I’ll see what I can do.”
And then he doesn’t show up.
Or,
JAKE: “Kenny, a few of us are going out for drinks. Care to join us?”
KENNY G: “Drinks?”
JAKE: “Yeah, right after work.”
KENNY G: “Hmmm… Maybe… I’ll see what I can do.”
And he doesn’t show up.
You get the idea.
Tired of getting the shaft, I take matters into my own hands and decide there is no way ANYONE would turn down a free round-trip ticket and hotel stay on the Las Vegas strip. Boy, was I wrong.
KENNY G: (Cool as ice.) “I can’t go.”
JAKE: “What! Why not?”
KENNY G: “I just can’t.”
JAKE: “But, KG, these are non-refundable tickets. I can’t even transfer the name.”
KENNY G: “Are you going to guilt me into it?”
He was starting to soften.
Kenny G. and I have known each other for 13 years. We are pretty close. Or at least, I thought we were.
JAKE: “Kenny, we come back the eve of your birthday. You will still be able to celebrate your special day with your wife and family. C’mon! Let’s do it. Free drinks, strip-clubs, gambling. FREE roundtrip tickets and hotel accommodations. How can you possibly say no?”
KENNY G: “Jake, I just can’t.”
I didn’t know whether to cry or to punch him in the face. For a few minutes, I thought of doing both. Instead, I did neither. I could see by the crinkly expression in his eyebrows that he was really touched by my offer, but that for some strange and mysterious reason, he really couldn’t go. So I left work intent to badger him some more the next day.
After sleeping on it, I changed my mind. This morning, I walked over to his cubicle on the other side of the department and asked him to sign a book I had published for our friend, Ernie. It’s a hardback book featuring most of the entries from this very blog. I had everyone sign as a late Christmas gift. Ernie loves it! You can buy a copy at http://tinyurl.com/MyErnieBook It’s really good quality.
JAKE: “Kenny G., I didn’t really buy you a ticket to Las Vegas. I was just joking.”
KENNY G: “You jerk! My stomach was in knots last night.”
JAKE: “I’m sorry, it was just a joke.”
What else could I say? I didn’t want him to feel bad anymore, so I told him it was all a big lie at his expense. If Kenny G. isn’t able to fly with me to Vegas next month, at least he can feel better thinking it was a hoax.
Happy Birthday, Kenny G.
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