Bill Cosby has suggested that Father's Day is almost as exciting as Ground Hog Day. Among the many problems that he discloses about this observance is the issue of buying a present for Dad. Among the dumbest gifts that Cosby has received on this day of obligatory recognition is soap-on-a-rope-- a remembrance which ranks slightly higher than the time he received a thousand yards of dental floss. There have been other thoughtful gifts, such as a sweater in June (it was on sale), the hedge cutters, weed trimmers and plumbing snakes. But, according to Cosby, "even General Patton would have lacked the courage to give his mother soap-on-a-rope." (1)

Or perhaps Erma Bombeck was right on when she wrote: "I remember very well how I got all my children, but for the life of me I can't remember why. …