From Village’s Kids: Happy 50th, Hillary

It takes a village to make a birthday card.

So it seemed Monday as dozens of Sonora Elementary School fourth-graders used laptops, cameras and printers to create cards for First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton’s 50th birthday.

“She’s so nice, pretty, and she has to be smart,” said Clay Jorth, 9, as he waited for a picture of himself and friends to pop out of a bubble-jet printer. “We’re all thinking of her. We hope that she’ll have a happy birthday, and her wishes all come true.”

Clay and pals R.J. Duernberger, 9, and Billy Holst, 9, wrote: “Mrs. Clinton, only the best is good enough for you.”

Sonora was the first stop in the nationwide Create a Card for the First Lady Tour sponsored by Canon Computer Systems Inc. Schools in 19 cities receive computer equipment in exchange for the salutations, which will be delivered to the White House before the first lady’s Oct. 26 birthday.

Canon’s permanent gift to Sonora is 10 color printers which each retail for $499. The tour goes to Los Angeles today and San Diego on Wednesday.

“They took a picture of me, and we’re going to put it on a card,” said Taryn Randall, 9, smiling behind green braces. Incidentally, Taryn doesn’t think the first lady looks 50. “She looks like 45, maybe.”

Most children didn’t struggle with the card-creating software. Principal Steve Pavich said that by the time his pupils are in fourth grade, they typically know some word processing and business applications.

Not all of the greetings--some of which were already written in the software--fit the occasion. One card, for example, began: “Hey dude.”

Another message: “Hope [your birthday’s] a little wild and a whole lot cool--just like you.”