Literary Giftings

My son's birthday is just around the corner now -next month, he'll add another year. So, I've been giving a little thought now and looking at various things he might like to get for his birthday.

He loves old things -but the old things he loves generally are old cars, particularly volkswagons or old pickup trucks.Now those are things totally out of my realm to tr to get for him. Can't afford things like that for openers, plus I would have no idea what to get him along those lines even if I did have the extra money.

And besides, he just acquired a new-to-him volkswagon about two weeks ago -one with no front windshield, no clutch and who knows how many other things that I'm pretty sure are vital to the operation of this buggy but which it came without!

I think I'll let the car restoration area completely up to him to get what he wants, what he needs there.

I know he likes various t-shirts and since he had served in the Army for a little over 4 years (from 1993 to 1998 or 1999 -can't remember exactly there -I thought about getting him an army t shirt -or perhaps something else denoting the outfit he served in or something like that.

But then last week when Maya and I were out prowling the community yard sales in the neighboring village here, I came across something else that I thought he might just find very enjoyable. At one of the sales, the people had books and books and more books -and all of them hard bound, very good books too for sale, absolutely dirt cheap! (Like for a quarter or fifty cents a copy, no less.) And I came across several I thought he might like but ended up selecting one by Kurt Vonnegut -titled Bagombo Snuff Box -which is a absolutely beautiful, like new, condition and I think this is something he will actually enjoy reading too.

Maybe later I can find a couple other books by Mr. Vonnegut -like Cat's Cradle or Slaughterhouse Five, either one of which I think he would probably enjoy too!

He's not exactly like his sisters or me with respect to reading a lot, but he does appreciate occasionally settling back and reading a really great piece of literature. Maybe I can help him start his own little library over time.