I would like to share a Christmas story.
When I was young, my family lived in a part of town where it was common for families to have a gardener to help tend the yards. While we were not ?Rich?, we thought of ourselves as being ?comfortably well off.? These men were typically Hispanic, and, while I do not know what they were paid, it was doubtless not much.
One year, when I was perhaps 10 years old, my mother sent me down to the corner toy store to buy some sort of present for one of my nephews. It was not a large or especially thoughtful gift.. more along the lines of ?we have two presents for Steven and only one for Charlie, so go buy another game for him.? I rode my bike to the store, and went in and picked up the game. I expect it cost around $5.00 or so then. I started towards the checkout counter.
As I approached the counter, I saw one of the local gardeners there ahead of me, dressed in his worn and somewhat soiled clothing. In one hand, he had a red rubber ball. In the other, he was counting out pennies to pay for it.
The vision of this moment is burnt into my brain. I see myself standing there. I knew, absolutely, that this was the only gift he was able to afford for his child. And there I am, with some meaningless item in my hands that cost 10 times that amount. And, I did not know what to do.
For virtually every Christmas since then I have thought about this incident, and the feelings come flooding back. The shame, the rage I felt. The compulsion to run up and shove the game I was holding into his hands. And the equally certain knowledge that this would have been the wrong thing to do. That it would have somehow destroyed something I could not name. All I knew was the paralysis, the turmoil, and the anguish I felt.
This was nearly 60 years ago. And, if I were in that position again, I would still not know what to do. The best I can offer when I tell my daughter this story is to acknowledge that so many people are not as lucky as we, and to be grateful for what we have. And, I would like to offer that to you as my gift.
