The Gift That Keeps On Giving
Updated: Sep 28, 2021
By Jon Osborn, (as it appeared in Backcountry Journal)
Christmas Eve found our extended family gathered around the dining-room table for a
traditional holiday supper. As a politically diverse group, we avoid discussing world affairs and upcoming elections, which opens the floor to other topics. While the scalloped potatoes were making a second orbit, someone posed the question:
“What was your favorite childhood Christmas gift?”
At first, silence filled the room, but eventually my younger brother kicked the ball into
motion, reliving his joy as he unwrapped a Millennium Falcon toy during the height of the
original Star Wars craze. Inspired by his exuberance, my kids rehashed a more recent
Christmas morning when Santa brought scooters, turning our main floor into an impromptu
skatepark.
Next came my turn. The question seemed simple enough. A Christmas Story had been
playing nonstop the last few days, so the boy-gets-BB-gun plotline was fresh in my mind. I
began flipping through a mental Rolodex of gifted rifles and shotguns. Like Ralphie, an iconic Daisy Red Ryder had come first, followed by a battery of others. But which qualified as the one?
Taking a contemplative sip of Pinot Noir, my mind drifted back to the 1980s. Reagan
was president, the space program was in full swing, and movies like Red Dawn, Back to the