I was determined to mine that space for presents this year, rather than have things already bought languish until some other occasion.
So, I'd snapped a pic and asked if he was interested.
Sure, he was!
Those held meaning for him, given that he was the Voice of the Sand Gnats at the baseball stadium for more than half their MLB years in this seaport.
Very well, then!
Since I would be sending those along to him, what else might I pack with them?
Well, how about a Sand Gnats koozie? Sure it was a little aged, but no one else would have one!
I had a couple of the regular koozies, too, even a pink one for Amy - sweet!
Then there was that silver travel mug with Gnick the Gnat on it... oh, and a towel with him, too... and how about some plastic souvenir cups?
Whatever were those still doing in my kitchen???
Who knows.
Somehow, they'd ended up shoved to the back of the top shelf, a place I cannot reach without a stepladder.
I was sure he'd like to have them, as a talking point at parties if naught else.
The trick was how to let them travel to Michigan without them being reduced to shards?
I stumbled upon the answer while trying to save space in the box: the glasses fit perfectly into the plastic cups.
Perfectly.
It's like he was meant to have them!
Okay, okay, what else?
A bottle opener with the Beer Guy!
There was even a Christmas card from the Sand Gnats!
A chef hat tree ornament!
A napkin from the Bill Murray restaurant in Florida!
Then there were more serious items.
A photo book from the trip to Tennessee in '93 for his stepdad's funeral.
That's cousin David and Jeff sitting, with David's ex-wife Angela standing to the side.
Christmas cards from his Mom, his cousin David, his cousin Brian, his Auntie Arlene - all of them treasures now that those dear ones had died.
Well, that's how I think of such cards.
And what else?
Oh, yes, the cassette with the tribute to Don Scott.
I included the notes I had made while listening to it.
One of the local bars held a 9-hour tribute to him for all his charity work in the community.
As I told Jeff, those notes were from my second time of listening to the cassette that I made of the live radio broadcast on I-95, a memorial that went on for almost 90 minutes.
That was the station where Don had been the afternoon drive-time DJ for years.
Now, the only place to hear his voice is on his youTube channel.
Jeff said Bob is the one who put an end to the nickname "Dammit Don" at the office.
Good for Bob!
I'm glad he thought to text me as he unpacked it...
and I'm glad I was able to call and speak to him as he went through all the unwrapped "gifts".
"Gifts" is certainly my intent of the contents.
I know it perhaps seems like I just threw together some items from around the house... which is partly true...
but I included a lot of heart, too, in those choices.
That includes all the time spent gathering these mementos together, adding personalized treats like the magnets I crafted, as well as the cassette with notes of all those in the radio biz who'd spoken on the memorial broadcast.
I included a birthday card, too, of course, with a tree being planted to mark his 58th trip around the sun.
That was something "new" for him.
Happy birthday, dear!
(smile!)
The postage was a monetary gift, too, for both the box to him and the separate Christmas package to Amy.
My thanks to the U.S. Post Office for getting both there on time... and unbroken!
Hooray!!
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