From the East Coast to the West Coast, Edmund Stevenson's family celebrated his 90th birthday with a Zoom party. Edmund is pictured in the lower left photo. (
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David Stevenson's father lives in Glen Mills, Pa. David said he and his brother in Santa Monica wanted to do something nice to recognize their father's milestone birthday.
"The quarantine did not deter us," David said.
His wife Noreen had a great idea. She would bake a cake, light candles and sing "Happy Birthday" to him over Zoom.
They expanded the idea and invited far-flung relatives to join the party. They kept it a surprise.It took a while to link in, but he was greeted with a full screen of little insets of family members who he'd not seen for a long time.
They were all assembled for his birthday.
"The best part was when we asked him to 'blow' on his computer screen while we blew out the cake on our end, making his virtual celebration a little more real," Stevenson said. "Then we ate his cake and told him how great it tasted! Ha! Ha!"
(David Stevenson is a senior art director at Penguin Random House in New York City, where he designs book jackets. He has a freelance graphic design studio in Chester where he lives. Several months ago he submitted free of charge opening designs for the digital billboards highlighting the town of Chester. His work can be seen at davidgstevenson.com.)
- Frances Ruth Harris