Best Presents

Hi everybody!

I'm actually on the computer at night, which is a rarity. We put the kids down pretty early tonight. It's nice. Not that I don't love Stevie and Allie, but it is nice.

The best presents question is a tough one. Like the Palestinian question. But not as violent or protracted. It's tough because I can never remember presents I received for more than a brief 24-48 hour window afterwards. I think I've always had it or that I bought it myself or that it belongs to someone else. I think this might be the sign of a serious mental condition, now that I think about it.

It's also tough because I have received so many wonderful presents over the years (or so I've been told, and documentary evidence seems to confirm): green army men, Fisher-Price people, Nerf ping pong... but also more serious presents, like lawn darts, which were later taken off the market for obvious reasons. I loved each present in turn, but I think the best present was when Dad wrote off several hundred dollars of debt from my "account." That was pretty cool. Or maybe it was the time that I found out a few weeks before Christmas last year that we were going to have another baby. That was even cooler.

The best present I've given? I don't know that I give such great presents. I try. Sometimes I try harder than other times. I did like giving Dad the Star Wars radio play on tape, because it reminded me of the times we listened to it on Saturday mornings when I was a small lad. I also liked giving everyone presents when I came home from Hong Kong. Dad saw to it that Mom got the most expensive one, so in a way the fan was Dad's present. Just so you know.

Anyhow, I think gift-giving is important. When I complain about it, it just shows how stingy I am. Reading the Old Testament and the Odyssey lately has made me think about how hospitality played a huge role in ancient moral teaching. I think we are sometimes too stingy in our modern world, and a time like Christmas can help us put things in perspective. Also, when people stay with you, you should be welcoming, take care of them, let them stay over, and feed them well, without being stingy about it. Like Odysseus's servant was when Odysseus came disguised as a beggar.