Barack Obama Is Sorry He Won't Be Able to Attend Your Bar Mitzvah

Barack Obama Is Sorry He Won't Be Able to Attend Your Bar Mitzvah

"When Reddit user freshcashews turned 13, his father sent out letters to important figures inviting them to the Bar Mitzvah. Forty-one of them wrote back—including then-Senator Obama, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Queen of England, and the President of Nigeria. Freshcashews, whose first name is Kyle, had several dozen letters sent out on his behalf in the summer of 2007 by his father, a retired Deputy Sheriff named Gregory, who was going to compile the responses into an album. Gregory received some 41 replies, from figures as wide-ranging as Donald Trump and the Pope, and Kyle uploaded a bunch to Reddit on Sunday night.

Unfortunately, none of the famous important people could make it to Travis' special day. But most of them—or, really, their assistants and helpers—were good-natured enough to fill in the blanks properly on their form letters—or, even better, craft fairly personal replies. The best response is sci-fi author Ray Bradbury's weird sketch, though the cute apologies from the President of Ethiopia and the Prince of Wales are sweetly funny.

Here are the responses Travis has scanned so far."