When I was a kid, my tastes were rather unusual to say the least. An example of the aforementioned was reflected in Christmas presents I often obtained for people.

 

I believe it was the Christmas of 1961 when I was 13 when the following incident took place.  My mother would put money away each year in a "Christmas Club" account at the bank for each of us kids. We used this to buy presents for our mother and brothers and sisters. Not a bad racket I figured to be able to buy Christmas presents for other people and have them pay for them. I sure wish I still had that same setup now. Tim, Sue, and I would go to our grandmother's house in Norwalk, then we would venture downtown to do our Christmas shopping. This was long before Malls and Amazon. When we got to town, we would all fan out and check out Woolworth's, Penney's, Grants, and other similar establishments in town. Woolworth's was always referred to as "The Dime Store".

 

Being a cat lover (if you tell any other guys I mentioned this, I'll deny I said it), I spied a really cool giant stuffed black cat that I just had to get for my mother's Christmas present. I don't recall where I found it. It was likely at Woolworth's where I usually did all of my shopping. The main reason I liked Woolworth's so much was their terrific lunch counter. They made the best hamburgers and fries I've ever had! Sadly, it has been out of business for years.

 

After I purchased the big stuffed cat, I couldn't wait to give it to my mother on Christmas. I remember walking back to my grandmother's and with every step, the shopping bag would crinkle, as the cat's head would poke out of the top of the bag with each step I took. That must have been a crazy sight with a young kid sauntering down the sidewalk with the head of a giant cat ducking in and out of a bag.

 

After my father died in January of 1961, for the next few years we celebrated Christmas at our Grandmother's in Norwalk. One of the best things about this was that we were allowed to open all of our presents on Christmas Eve, which was always the tradition at Grandma's house! That was great for us kids because it avoided the eternal long Christmas Eve night waiting for morning.

 

When the appointed time came on Christmas Eve, I eagerly presented my proud purchase. When she opened the present, ever so slowly as if to savor the moment, she seemed very pleased at my superior taste in Christmas presents. She said she really liked it. Later on, each time I saw it sitting on top of her bedroom dresser, I always wondered if she really did like that gaudy old giant stuffed black cat. I have always thought the reason she did was that she got it from one of her kids. I suspect that was the only reason she liked it. I may be wrong, but you never know. I sure would like to know whatever happened to that big cat. I sure would like to have it sitting on my bedroom dresser. However, it would probably scare the house cats, thinking it was a giant cat trying to horn in on their territory.

 

Judge for your self in the photo below. Do you think I have good taste for Christmas presents? I've always thought I had.