The Circus Mallet

Travelin'Oma week 7, day 2

I love the idea of finding the perfect gift that is a perfect fit. And I don’t mean to wear. I mean personality, taste, hobby, or just something someone will love.

I’d love to have the perfect gift for my husband every time, but it is nearly impossible. When he finds something he wants, he buys it. Also he takes such enormous pleasure in the hunt for the best deal, and just the right version of what he wants that I don’t like to just hand him something that he would have had more fun finding for himself.

So imagine my delight when I found the perfect gift for Ray, and it even ended up a surprise! We were in Sun Valley for a business meeting. It was August, sometime in the 1990’s (here’s where I curse not keeping a journal). I only remember it was August because it was Ray’s birthday. A couple of days before Ray’s birthday we wandered into a store at the resort that sold a variety of items, including some antiques. One of the antiques was a solid oak circus mallet – the very big kind you see where a strong man swings it over his head and hits the base of a tall pole and tries to get a ball to shoot up and ring a bell at the top of the pole. Ray fell in love with the mallet. I thought, “Aha! The perfect birthday surprise!” I convinced him that it was silly to buy the mallet now. It had been there for months, no one was going to buy it immediately. We could buy it in a day or two. What’s the rush? Somehow Ray went along with my thinking.

The next morning Ray took off for his meeting. I took off for the store. I gleefully bought the mallet. Then as I was leaving the store I looked across the way, and there was Ray setting up some things outside. Yikes! Good thing I noticed. I scampered around behind a building and managed to get the mallet into our room without being discovered. I hid the mallet under the bed.

That afternoon Ray came in our room visibly upset. I asked what was wrong. He said, “I can’t believe it! I went back to get the mallet, and it was gone. I knew I should have bought it last night.” I tried to console him as best I could, smiling inside as I did.

Ray’s birthday: He left for his meeting, and I carefully placed the mallet on the bed where he would find it when he got back. When he came in he didn’t notice it at first. Then when he did see it, he looked at me incredulously, and asked how I’d managed to find it and buy it. I laughed and told him the story. He couldn’t believe I was so sly—but he was thrilled. I still smile every time I look at that mallet.