An Unforgettable Gift

Each Christmas season, I’m reminded about one of the most memorable gifts I had ever seen someone receive for Christmas.

The year was 1965 and the parents of a childhood friend of mine Billy Hagan, were in the market for a new station wagon. The venerable old car currently sitting in their driveway had clearly seen better days.

It was the day before Christmas and I was at Billy’s house checking out their Christmas tree, when his dad pulled into the driveway in a brand new 1966 Ford Country Squire. I can still envision this car with its white exterior, the obligatory faux wood siding and a light blue interior. Mrs. Hagan was out shopping when the car arrived and this provided a perfect opportunity for Mr. Hagan to secretly prepare this car for his wife as a Christmas gift.

Billy and I helped his father wrap one giant red ribbon length wise, then another red ribbon width wise across the car, forming a giant red cross at the top of the car. I remember, while crawling under the car to pass the ribbon to Billy on the other side, the smell of the new tires and that metallic smell given off when a new exhaust system is breaking in. After skillfully tying off all four ends of the ribbon to the roof rack, he then attached a giant red bow to the middle of that roof rack. I had never seen something so big tied up with ribbon and a bow…it was quite a sight for a nine year old to absorb.

Mr. Hagan then drove the car into a little used barn where his wife would never venture to look. That night which was Christmas Eve, after pledging Billy and his sister Judy to secrecy, he quietly rolled the car down the driveway to a spot opposite the kitchen window where Mrs. Hagan would see it as she prepared coffee Christmas morning. Needless to say, the coffee preparation on that long ago Christmas morning, was anything but ordinary and forever remembered.

Even 42 years later, the vision of that ribbon wrapped Country Squire still resounds strongly in my mind.