Ask and ye shall receive

We jump-started our Christmas last night by opening the mystery box I had received in the mail from Tony Pierce, the eminent blogger in Los Angeles. At his invitation, I had sent him the cost of shipping, and he forwarded to me seven or eight pounds of stuff he thought I'd like.

Lucky for me, the Mrs. and the girls were around, and like me, they were eager to find out what the box contained. So we got the fancy drinks going and opened it up.

Now, Tony has always impressed me as a thoughtful and generous man, but he really outdid himself with this. We oohed, we aahed, we laughed, we scratched our heads. It went on for an hour or more.

Right away, on the top of the box, we found a work of art.

Just beneath that, there was literature. And all sorts of fine memorabilia.

I knew there would be Bukowski. Some things you just know.

But here's something I'd never thought I'd own: the Led Zeppelin IV Hot Wheels van.

For the fridge: fine photography, political art, and how better to impress people at the supermarket with your shopping list?

There were useful things, and things that used to be useful.

I had mentioned Stanford and USC. I think that controlled the carpet color.

I had also mentioned the Dodgers, for which I was rewarded with baseball cards, some tickets to a Cubs game at Dodger Stadium, and there was even a Shaq rookie card thrown in.

One controversial item was included.

There were also items that could not be identified.

And there was a lot more.  Including music galore.

Toward the end, the girls were debating who should get which lighter.

At this point, it was revealed that neither of them had seen Animal House, and so off to the TV the party moved.

Family time like this is hard to come by. Many thanks to Tony and Amber for the joy.