Christmas Presents

Coolest gift: The Young Relative's Dr. Dre earbuds (Dr. Dre, pronounced Dray, is a rapper who lends his name to these high-tech headphones). I was skeptical until I plugged them into my smartphone and started up Adele's "Skyfall." Oh my gosh. I'm no audiophile, but they produce truly astonishing sound!
Brainiest gift: A T-shirt that my college professor sister sent the Young Relative that read, "ACL: Amateur Crastination League." The whole family stared at each other in silence, baffled, for probably 30 seconds until we figured it out ("AMATEUR-crastination" as opposed to "PRO-crastination." Get it?)
Most flexible gift: Gift cards. Love them! Starbucks, Foxy Loxy, Lowe's, L.L. Bean, Floga Bistro, Half Moon.
Most observant gift recipient: My country friend who identified the blue ribbon encircling my present to her as -- yes, a length of baling twine.
Proudest moment of the holidays: My dear friend and former colleague Paul Souders won National Geographic's Grand Prize for wildlife photography for his amazing shot of a polar bear peering up from beneath the melting sea ice on Hudson Bay in northern Canada. The photo has been all over the Internet; maybe you've seen it. I mean, really: National Geographic! Grand Prize!!
Best gift, as always: Spending time with family and friends. And even strangers: I was on Apple Grove Road the morning of Christmas Day and a Prius had pulled over to the shoulder. I noticed that the driver had her window rolled down, so, thinking she might be lost trying to get to somebody's house, I stopped. After the two of us -- perfect strangers -- wished each other an enthusiastic Merry Christmas, the driver said no, she wasn't lost, just enjoying the view. Perfect.