Who's the first to know?

We received unsolicited mailings from lawyers when my husband was sued over an old, bad debt, the result of identity fraud.

Today, he received an order form from the "Professional Awards of America" company because another one of his patent applications was approved.

I don't remember seeing the approval letter. Maybe he received the letter at work. He never told me about the approval. Maybe he thinks this is old hat?

The order form is designed to appeal to an inventor's pride. "Let us be one of the first to congratulate you! Inventors like you are the backbone of future progress." Blah, blah, blah.

He doesn't receive a corporate monetary award for this. In the past, he has said that he would accept a modest allowance for the buying of coffee mugs, plaques, T-shirts if one were offered him.