Trophy Gift

Trophy Gift

I was mesmerized by the Christmas catalog. Actually, just one item – the Soulskate. One could perform superhuman feats at the tilt of an ankle. I could attach it to my backpack! Like a hunter, emerging from the woods with his trophy buck over his shoulders, I would appear. King of the world.

When I asked for it for Christmas, Dad said “Paul, if you want a Soulskate, you’ll march out there and clean out that garage closet, already full of toys. Pile them in the driveway – we’ll give them away. Anything for a shot at a Soulskate.

When I was done, Dad snapped a picture of the pile with his cell phone and headed upstairs to place a “For Free” ad on craigslist. I looked out the window to see who would get my toys.

Later, I heard the noise. An old guy in overalls was throwing my toys into his pickup. Too old to have kids my age – was he going to sell my old toys? Just then, an old Toyota, with two baby seats in the rear, and a boy about my age in the front, pulled in behind the pickup. The boy bounced from his seat and ran to the few remaining toys. He and the man locked eyes, like a scene from an old Western. The boy grabbed my old skateboard and threw it into his mom’s car.

The man approached the mother’s window as she rolled it down. A few words were exchanged, as the boy looked on. She got out, opened the trunk, and the man began transferring the toys from his pickup to her car! The boy was so happy, he could not stop looking at all those toys.

Even though Christmas was still weeks away, I had gotten my most important present.