Special Insert #4

I hadn't planned on posting any more additions to this blog this year and then something happened.

 I spent some time today with people who got their presents early this year, and they were really into them. I started thinking about all the presents I've received over the years, and which ones stood out - which ones I still remember and still think about. Most of them were received on Christmas Day, but one was early and one was a little late. Here are the stand-outs, with the years I received them, as near as I can remember. (I can add this to this blog because there are at least 2 books listed.)

1.) 2008. Some people I didn't know donated their late son's organs and I received the heart. The gift of life. You can't beat that. (This was about a month early.)
2.)  1984. My daughter was born. She has brought joy to my life. (This one was a few days late, but well worth the wait.)
3.) Anything my daughter has ever given me. Specifically, in 2005 she gave me a DVD player, and in 2007 she gave me the gadget that allowed me to hook it up to my TV. (That was OK, because I didn't have any DVDs at the time anyway.)
4.) 1983. We had just moved into the house in New Jersey in July, and money was a little tight. And yet, for Christmas that year my wife (at the time) gave me the Annotated Sherlock Holmes. A 2 volume, hard cover edition in a slip case, written by William S. Baring-Gould one of the preeminent Sherlockian scholars. It detailed all the stories, using photographs, maps, and illustrations, had loads of details, and retailed, at the time, for $50.
5.) 1974 or 1975 (?). My mom gave me an autographed copy of John Huston's autobiography. We were both fans of Huston's work and this was a really wonderful surprise. (Thanks have to go to my cousin Anne, who was working at a book store in New York and got the copy for my mom.)
6.) 1960(?). A 2-foot long submarine from my folks. The top came off, revealing the various rooms within, and it came with scale-size navy crewmen and frogmen, and fired torpedoes and missiles.

There have been lots of gifts in lots of years, but these stand out because they touched me. For the most part, they showed that someone thought about me, and got a gift that showed how much they cared. Having given one of those early presents I mentioned at the beginning of this post, and really enjoying how much that person enjoyed the gift, I can only hope that the givers of the presents I've received have enjoyed my enjoyment.

I remember these gifts, and I remember the people who gave them to me. And I'm pretty sure I always will.