After 30 years of waiting, a father and son's birthday wish comes true

"My dad is in good health, and I thought he could make it, which he did. Indeed, on Rush's 80th birthday, Feb. 23, he walked into Wintzell's Oyster House with his father, Jim Rush, to claim their free oysters. Jim Rush is 99."

"The signs have just become part of the restaurant's personality. All of the sayings on the wall are things he either coined himself or that he heard from other people and thought were funny sayings. People love reading the signs and they forget that their food is taking too long."

"He doesn't know exactly when the father-son free oysters sign was put up, but said it could have been nearly 90 years ago, when the average life expectancy was about 61. It looks like one of the older ones ... probably one of the init"

Jimmy Rush spotted a sign at Wintzell's Oyster House in Mobile, Alabama, offering free oysters to any man aged 80 accompanied by his father. At age 50, he decided this would be his 80th birthday celebration. Three decades later, on February 23, Rush successfully claimed the promotion with his father, Jim Rush, who is 99 years old. Jim Rush has frequented the restaurant since its 1938 opening and previously visited with his own father. Wintzell's Oyster House, now operated by the Omainsky family since 2000, is famous for its approximately 12,000 humorous signs covering the walls. The original owner created these witty sayings as part of the restaurant's distinctive personality and marketing strategy.

Read at The Washington Post