Last week, I came up with a few gift ideas for outdoor enthusiasts. I closed the column with the idea that the best gifts of all were those in which you give of yourself. While it’s been reiterated countless times, the concept of giving of one’s self never really gets outdated While I’m admittedly biased, it seems to me that there are more opportunities for such giving if you enjoy the outdoors.
A recent ad on TV caught my attention as being one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. It’s an for those three wheel motorcycles in which a fathers voice tells how all he used to see of his son was the back of his head in front of the TV and how all the son saw of his dad was the top of his head protruding from behind the newspaper. The father goes on to say that ever since they got a pair of those wonderful motorcycles, both father and son have gone out riding almost every weekend. All the while, you are seeing exciting scenes of the father and son climbing hills, splashing through creeks and racing through the woods. The dad concludes that he doesn’t think his son really knows much about a generation gap, and come to think of it, neither does he. It’s an absolutely great ad.
There are so many gifts that one can give which require only an expenditure of money, but the really great ones also require that you spend time with the recipient as he uses the gift. Those are the gifts that really matter. A perfect example is a gun, particularly a child’s first gun. When you give a 12 or 13 year old kid that first single shot 22 or 20 gauge there is, or at the very least, ought to be, a requirement that you take the youngster afield and instruct him in it’s safe use, and also the common sense concepts like never killing more than he can eat, or why he shouldn’t shoot hen pheasants.
If you’re thinking about buying a kid a gun, but aren’t going to be around to give him the proper guidance, then perhaps you’d better think again. Like most things in life, a gun can be a two-edged sword, it can be a source of family ties, education and communication that brings families closer together. A gun, if simply handed to a kid like any other toy, can bring senseless tragedy. The choice is yours, and I heartily recommend the former.
The situation is so very similar for lots of other items too. A dirt bike can be the best thing that ever happened to a kid if you go out riding with him, but it could lead to a lot of trouble and even serious injury or death if an inexperienced kid is just turned loose with no supervision. A simple thing like a pocket knife can be one of the world’s most useful gifts, or it also has the potential for trouble if the recipient isn’t mature enough or properly trained in its use. The ironic thing about giving gifts that will require an investment of your time is that the person who gets the most from the gift is the one who gives it.
Years ago, I used to belong to Big Brothers, and one Christmas I gave my little brother Billy, a fly rod. I taught Billy how to cast and how to tie his own flies, finally the day came when Billy caught his very first trout on his own rod with a fly he tied himself. He was so proud I thought he was going to bust his buttons. But I don’t think Billy even knew that I was evn prouder of him than he was.
Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about giving, mostly at first, from my parents, but later on from people who became close friends because they gave of themselves to me. One such friend was Okla Primm. Oak and I would go out to cut wood together and more often than not, he’d say “I’ve got more wood than I need at home Lad, why don’t you take this load.” Sometimes we’d be coming back into town with a truckload of firewood and Oak would ask “Lad, you wouldn’t mind if we stop by Widow Smith’s house and give her this load of oak would you?” He’d give me a camp stove he said he no longer needed and then suggested we go up in the mountains camping so he could show me how to use it.
Yes indeed, I learned an awful lot about giving from Okla Primm. He died last week and was buried on Tuesday. One thing that wasn’t buried with him was his spirit of giving. Memorials of granite and marble are all fine and dandy but for my money the best kind of all are the ones that live on in the hearts of those whom we’ve given to. People think about giving especially at this time of year, but once you get into the habit, it’s a tough one to break. If you want to give a gift this Christmas that will last longer than any other, give one that requires an investment of your own time, and you’ll have given a truly lifelong gift, a gift that truly matters
Until Next Week,
Tight Lines!
