g 8
[6
MILLER
FRIENDSHIP page G67
CratiVe
Holibmi Gift lbw
VAN GOGH® TRAVEL SET
VAN GOGH®
FINE QUALITY WATERCOLORS
Blank Greeting Cards
HOLIDAY SUPER SAVINGS
(Decorate your own)
$349
From Millers Artist Supplies Co.
Pkg.
FARMINGTON HILLS
33332 W. 12 Mile Rd.
(810) 489-8070
The
Perfect
Gift...
A
Subscription
To
VALID AT BOTH LOCATIONS
0
0_
FERNDALE
279 W. 9 Mile Rd. 1"
"8
(810) 414-7070 6:
I
FARMINGTON HILLS & FERNDALE
40% 0 FF!
ANY PURCHASE
I
With Coupon Only
Excludes Sale Items
& Framing
Live The Major League Dream
• BRIO • Safari
• Breyer Gund
Playmobil • Tomy
• Thomas Tank
• Ravensburger
• Geo Safari
Wood Board Games,
3D & Other Puzzles
The Original Tiger Fantasy Camp
TIGER FANTASY CAMP
(Must Be 21 Yrs. or Older)
Mickey Lolich ® Camp Director
• Mah Jong Games & Accessories
• Games in Leather Cases
• Ltd. Ed. Games
• Drueke Chess Line
• by Soldiers (Britain Line)
• Die Cast Model Cars
Freehan • Horton • Northrup • Hiller
Thompson • Tifesh • Grubb • Kemp
And Many More!
Unique, Unusual and Educational
Toys and Games For All Ages
FEB. 4 - 11, 1996
COME BROWSE
THROUGH THE MOST UNIQUE
TOY & GIFT STORE
Lakeland, Florida
Call Today
810-353-5643
Brought To You By:
Sports Fantasies, Inc.
28777 Northwestern Hwy.
Suite 290
Southfield, MI 48034
We Offer
Corporate & Multiple
Camp Discounts
'4.107 N. Center St., Northville : 4
10% OFF CAMP
When Responding To This Ad
PRICE INCLUDES EVERYTHING!!!!!
-J
},
(810) 305-9990
in this ritual became clear: ex-
treme hesitation initially, fol-
lowed by a little dance of "oh, no,
you shouldn't, I don't deserve
this," and finally, acceptance.
More thank-yous followed as
the bearer departed, and contin-
ued the next time we met. Which
is when I would reciprocate with
a present of the same value, con-
tinuing the chain.
I began noticing small items
usually came in multiples of
three, five or seven, all good-luck
numbers. Nine is bad because it
is a homonym for "suffering," and
four is even worse, meaning
"death." So although a four-mem-
ber family is the national aver-
age, shops always sell cutlery and
chinaware in sets of five. The
tyranny of five extends to food as
well; I had to count before putting
together a basket of muffins for
a friend.
Sometimes, people would de-
cline their status as gift-givers,
simply saying, "This is from my
mother." My English pupils in
particular liked to bring gifts from
"Mother," some of them carrying
a gift on every single visit.
I pitied these women, always
cooking, shopping and wrapping
for their mature children. In the
end, I concluded it was an act of
kindness to offer something from
someone once-removed; it seemed
to imply I was not bound to reci-
procate. But I couldn't just take.
I began rattling through my
kitchen and the nearby shopping
towns for ideas.
In my Japanese pocket calen-
dar there was a suspicious-look-
ing section titled "Gifts" in which
I deduced all presento moves
should be charted. I began to fill
out this gift diary, and wondered
if it would be all right to recycle
some gifts not exactly to my taste,
such as the box of extra-fancy
sweet bean cakes. But the ques-
tion arose — would anybody's
mother be hurt?
These days, the presents that
never quite found a home on my
coffee table or kitchen shelves rest
in a massive tea crate I've covered
with a cheerful Japanese cotton
fabric. Nestled in sweet-smelling
layers are gifts as well as diago-
nally folded pieces of wrapping
paper, filmy ribbons and mes-
sages of friendship inscribed on
tiny paper fans.
I look at them a couple of times
a year and, feeling misty, put
them back. I realize I've become
a pack rat, the antithesis of a
good Japanese okusan. But I
can't bear the idea of discarding
these wrappings: these memories
of wars fought with paper and
scissors and stickers and, always,
the best intentions. ❑