Monday, December 31, 2007

Gifting

I love Christmas. I love the idea of gift giving, not because of the presents that you receive, but because of the thought and care that went into that purchase. I enjoy giving gifts much more than getting them, especially for people that I know well. I will spend hours on the internet, hunting for things that I think they might like. This year, an ad for Mystery Science Theater 3000 caught my eye. It was a TV show on Comedy Central in the 90's, where this guy and two robots that he built watch and make fun of old, bad movies. The guy and robots part is weird, but the comments are hilarious.
When I saw the ad, I remembered that my Mom had loved that show, even so far as the have a "MST3K" pin on her purse. I bought her one DVD of it which included "Manos: Hands of Fate" and "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" - fitting for the holiday. I gave it to her, and when she opened it, she looked confused.

me- "Remember! Remember how you loved that! Remember the pin you had!

her, with confused look on her face - "Are you sure this is for me?

I was stunned. And confused myself. The only thing worse than getting someone a bad present is getting them a present that you think embodies them, and then finding out that maybe you have been talking to some other Mom your whole life, cause this Mom has no idea where you would have come up with some like that.

We decided to watch "Manos: Hands of Fate", voted by many as the worst movie every made. Many are right. It was awful. The story was not too bad, but the acting was excruciating. There were painfully long pauses between dialog and scenes that made no sense to the story. Luckily, a guy and some robots were tearing it to bits. Larry, Mom and I were cracking up, Mom and I so much that we cried. When the movie ended, Mom said "Maybe I did have that pin!" You know that sound of air deflating from a balloon? Mom's declaration sounded like that in reverse. Order in the universe is restored. I am not crazy- but Mom may be losing it.


Yesterday, Mom sent me an email. A guy from her work looks alot like Torgo, the main character from the movie, a creepy hillbilly looking dude. She sent me this story about him:


This same guy, John, is sort of "special", not retarded, but maybe a little "different". He looks sort of like a serial killer, since he doesn't always respond when you say hello, and just STARES at you! Creepy!! He doesn't drive, but I've seen his dad at the store occasionally to pick him up after his shift, which ends at 6:30 am. Sometimes, he walks home from work too.

John said one day, he was walking home from work- this was the Sunday before Christmas, and a woman in a red truck pulled into the school parking lot near where he was walking. She came up to him and said "merry Christmas" to which he replied the same.
She said "I see you walking every morning on my way to work". John told her that he works at Genuardi's night shift, and he is coming home after work. She asked him if a bike would make his trip easier, to which he replied it would.

This woman's husband was coming up behind her with a new bike, and together they said "Merry Christmas" to John, presenting him with a brand new bike along with a headlight, chain and helmet.

VERY COOL STORY!!

I took his pic with the bike, and plan to send it to the local paper, hoping it inspires other to give from their hearts!!!



I know its sappy, but it made me tear up when I read it. It just proves that you don't have to know someone that well to know exactly what they want.

Mom- you're welcome! We can watch "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" next year.

1 comment:

Singing Wolf said...

I hope we get to watch SC/Martians before Christmas!
BTW, there was not much story to Manos, Hands of Fate either- but I have to admit, it was one of the best-worst movies I've ever seen. Mostly because we watched it together and enjoyed it!!
Thanks for a great Christmas!!