BELMONT, N.C. — Lillian McCaw, or 'Dish' as her friends and family call her, is looking for something special for her 95th birthday. 95 birthday cards from all over the world.
McCaw's granddaughter, April Lattig, said Ms. Dish had come to live with her in Belmont about 2 years ago when she got sick.
"She's been living on her own up until that point was doing very well. And then she got sick and came to live with us, Lattig said. "She's been living in Greensboro."
Lattig said Ms. Dish is pretty self-sufficient in her home. She does her exercises and even has her own little apartment in her bedroom.
Ms. Dish, however, is slowly losing her eyesight.
"The only thing is she can't see very well," Lattig said.
According to Lattig, one thing that really brings Dish joy is cards. "She loves cards and she re-reads the cards throughout the year," Lattig said. I had this idea because she loves cards so much but with her eyesight, I'm not sure if she'll really be able to see them much more," Lattig said. "So I figured one last hurrah with this many cards."
Lattig decided to take to her social media page to ask people from all around the world for birthday cards, and it's working.
"She's gotten them from all over the world already," Lattig recalled. "We’re nowhere near 95, which is my goal."
For Ms. Dish, every part of the birthday card is special to her, even the stamps.
"She asks me every day, 'how many did I get today?' Because I had been keeping them. But she said 'no I want to see them' because she wants to see the different stamps," Lattig said. "They really uplift her and that’s why I think she re-reads them throughout the year."
Ms. Dish has even put in a request to get a birthday card from the White House. If you want to send Ms. Dish a birthday card, you can do so at the following address:
Ms. Dish's birthday is on August, 29th.
Lillian McCaw
PO Box 492
Belmont, NC 28012