Dear Ben, happy birthday. I'm sorry this is a day late. I had this ambitious idea of making this website as sort of like a next-generation e-card. Anyway, here we are. I wanted to first send you just good wishes and love from over here and perhaps in a moment of a bit of nostalgia, kind of reflecting a little bit about you. You know, there's a bit of a Ben Steinberg mythology over here. You know, I always talk to the kids about how I learned to do what I did by watching you. And you know, that's not a mythology. That's absolutely true. You know, you set the tone and I followed you in that regard and it served me really well.
Now in terms of something that's perhaps a little bit more serious and sensitive is that you are always there for me even though you're not there. So what I mean to say is that it is a shame that I can't be there on a kind of regular basis and we can't see each other that much during that part of our lives where it's difficult. And the decision about kind of planting my roots here just made that the inevitable result. That said, you know, when I have, you know, my business goes up and down and really it didn't go down per se, but I overextended myself, got a little bit too ambitious. And you know, when I asked for help, first of all, I didn't feel ashamed to ask. I felt comfortable and you did immediately just what you could. You're always there for me. You know, when I first got married and I had not a dollar to my name, you know, you instantly just gave me money to get an engagement ring. Remember that? You know, I did eventually pay you back with interest. You didn't ask for that. I just did it. But you know, that matters. Those actions matter, you know?
And even though I wish we could be closer just around each other, particularly for the next generation, I just want to tell you on your birthday or one day after your birthday that I really appreciate who you are. And you know, when I talk about you, I'm talking about to the kids, you in terms of what I hope they become in their own way and really who I hope I become in my own way. So Ben, I love you very much. I really admire you and I hope you had a nice birthday day and I hope all is well.
Love,
David