Date: 2014-12-26
To: ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ...And a Merry Appalachian Christmas to YouÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ
Miles today: 0.0

Into double digits - 95 Days left to cook-up some new ways to get the small things that will add weight but make life on the trail bearable. It was a wonderful Appalachian Trail Christmas! Santa was good to me and gave me a lot of the things I had placed on her list. This reminds me of a time when we were first married. This was back in the olden days when very few couples lived together prior to marriage. My wife and I had not established a ¢household;¢ that is, we had not purchased the mundane day to day utensils used in the kitchen on a regular basis. We were doing things like using regular forks and spoons to remove salad from the large salad bowl, or spaghetti from the pot, and even turning fried eggs over ¢ we did not own salad tongs, spatulas, measuring cups etc...It was a Spartan kitchen to be sure. The basics were missing that would have been acquired over the ¢testing of the waters¢ phase of the pre-marriage arrangements ¢ Living Together! So, being the caring, loving and insightful partner that I was I had the brilliant idea that what my wife needed was new kitchen utensils, and perhaps even some brand new pots and pans would be just really great as well. What better time to acquire badly needed items than Christmas time? Right! I would accomplish a myriad of goals. I would not waste our scarce recourses of money; I would only purchase the items that we badly needed; and most importantly I would provide Christmas Gifts for my wife. Face it; this was a win all the way around no matter how you look at it. So, Christmas morning had arrived. We got up early removed the little trinkets from our stockings as we talked about the adventure each one of us had had purchasing the items then my wife prepared a Christmas breakfast all the while I was anxious with anticipation of how wonderfully happy she would be opening her presents I has so thoughtfully purchased and carefully wrapped for her to open on Christmas day. After the delicious breakfast we went to the Christmas tree to exchange gifts. As my wife opened gift after gift consisting of tongs, measuring cups, a stove-top spoon holder, a new frying pan, a set of pots...on and on it went gift after gift...every time she opened she would smile and thanked me, gave me a hug or a kiss and even a hug and a kiss. Yes! I had hit the jackpot! My wife was thrilled with all of these impersonal gifts. After all, a great deal of thought and planning had gone into each of the selections. We had finally exchanged the last gift and all the ripped wrapping paper and handmade bows had been placed into the trash can we were exhausted. There we sat staring at all of those kitchen items. Me with a sense of complete and total satisfaction of a success and my wife, well, she just sat there quietly...Now at this point in our marriage I did not have the wisdom that 44 years would bestow upon me, so quiet was not a tip-off for me. I got up, announced what great Christmas presents we had had and that I was going to take a shower. Off I went only to return to a sobbing wife. The natural response to this situation was ¢What¢s wrong?¢ Then out it came....¢I AM NOT A KITCHEN!¢ Wanting to make light of the situation I explained that ¢I was a tool box.¢ And that she should feel free to fill it up anytime or on any event: Birthday, Christmas, Easter, New Years, whatever, just anytime, heck, even just an I-love-you-present. This rational went over like a lead balloon...You got it ¢ assume the position...¢ into the doghouse I flew.¢ She finally got over it and now I could check the box about having a better understanding of the concept of gifts for her, a situation never to be repeated ever again. We still talk about it only now we just laugh about it. But, Yes I am a backpack! I am still a tool box, and I am an antique car... Merry Christmas to you all and a very Happy New Year...The pace will pick-up ¢ AT here I come.