I have to admit, I am not a shopping enthusiast! Except around the Christmas and Channukah holidays, I hate the parking problems, I don’t enjoy browsing aisle after aisle looking for something that would be honestly appreciated by Grandma or Uncle Arthur. I certainly do not like standing in line with inpatient people waiting for the lone employee to handle a complicated exchange. During the holidays, I enjoy strolling through stores just people watching, without being weighted down with packages. The experience for whatever reason puts me into a holiday emotional state, but I do my actual shopping and buying almost entirely online. That’s a practice I developed in the very early years of the Web.

Online shopping didn’t save my life all by itself. Just because I started using the Web before any of my friends, I still had to make the decisions. And then, around five years ago, or so, I discovered food.

That wasn’t very honestly phrased, because I discovered food when I was still an infant. But I didn’t discover food as a gift idea until recently. You see, at that time I received a gift basket full of hardly edible sausages, processed cheese spreads (mostly chemicals I think) and crackers that were about as crunchy as a rock. However, the poor quality of what passed as food in that gift turned out to be my inspiration. “What,” I thought, “If I had received genuinely good food?” How different that would have been, and how much I would have enjoyed it.

Since then, I have been busy conducting research (that’s just my word for “sampling”). I have found online vendors who offer genuine quality for about the same price that you can get that synthetic stuff at the mall. (You know the one I mean, but I’m not about to open myself to a libel or slander charge by naming the brand.) Just like the mall kiosks, the online shops handle all the shipping, gift cards, everything. I know that my gifts will be exceptionally pleasant surprises for all of my gift recipients.

The wide selection of quality gift foods available is truly remarkable. It ranges from live lobster dinners to a fruit basket; from cookie bouquets to live lobsters; from wine gift baskets to imported caviar or fine Wisconsin cheeses.

I do keep gift foods around the house, beautifully or cleverly arranged, for my guests who come to my house or for those whom I visit in person during those gift giving times. The Internet provides assistance to me even in these cases, because it is packed full of great ideas for arranging and wrapping gift food.

If you happen to see me strolling a store aisle with a huge smile on my face when everybody else seems frantic, you will now know my secret. But let’s keep it a secret from my Uncle Arthur.

I have an aunt who is one of the most thoughtful, giving persons I know.  She sent a package to me that truly helped me through a very trying time in my life.  I was at Band Camp late in the summer.  Her own daughter had attended this same one a few years earlier.  Band Camp is a week of rigorous instruction in which performances for football half-time shows, as well as week-end competitions are learned.  It is an extremely strenuous activity, as choreography, music memorization, and fine-tuning skills are perfected.

The location of Band Camp is at a rather isolated, rural setting.  Comfort is non-existent.  The cabins in which we stayed are old, dilapidated structures which house spider-ridden, musty-smelling cots.  They are arranged side-by-side and in bunks, accommodating as many campers as possible.  Talk about living in “close quarters”.  There is no other furniture in the cabin.  Even though these living and sleeping arrangements seemed undesirable and lacked privacy, we were so exhausted after our daily routines, we quickly adapted.

Meals were shared in a cafeteria setting.  The food, although filling, consisted of high-calorie, bland-tasting fare.  Nothing was fresh; everything tasted like it came from a can…and it probably did.

The week I attended Band Camp, the weather was uncomfortably hot and humid.  Seasonal allergies prevailed as pollen counts elevated.  Being at Band Camp was both stressful and strenuous.  Practices were brutal and the pressure of living in this kind of environment, as well as the mental and physical demands, made me miss the ordinary comforts of home. 

One day, about mid-week, I was particularly frustrated.  The rigorous activity and the living conditions were getting to me.  I was hot and tired.  My muscles were sore and I was probably slightly dehydrated.  My allergies were making me even more uncomfortable, depriving me of much-needed sleep.  My muscles were sore and I was probably on the verge of dehydration.    During a short rest break, my fellow campers and I heard the roar of a UPS truck coming down the lane.  “Oh great”, I said.  “Probably some more of that fattening food being delivered”, added my friend.  Imagine my surprise (and delight) when the Band Director called out my name with his megaphone to inform me that it was I who had the delivery.

As I hurriedly opened the large cardboard box, my fellow campers eagerly watched.  Inside the wrapping, I found a hand-written note from my thoughtful aunt and read it aloud to the growing crowd.  “I know you and your band-mates need to keep up your energy.  Band Camp is a time for learning and sharing; a time for loving and caring; a time to make lasting memories.  Enjoy!” 

Inside the huge box was a beautiful bushel basket brimming with a variety of delicious, fresh fruit.  Sweet and juicy peaches, plums, and nectarines were abundant.  There was an assortment of McIntosh and Granny Smith apples; Bartlett and Bosc pears; red and green seedless grapes.  Colorful oranges and tangy tangerines were also attractively placed to make an enticing arrangement.  Best of all, was a gigantic, ripe watermelon.  Sealed packages of dried cherries, banana chips, and boxes of raisins were thrown in; to be enjoyed after the fresh assortment was gone.

My aunt’s note said to share; so share, I did.  There was enough fruit for everyone to enjoy.  This basket of fresh fruit was the healthiest we had eaten all week.  We savored each nutritious bite.  It gave us the energy we needed to make it through the week.  It refreshed us enough to calm our nerves.  It gave us the nutrition we were lacking so we could focus and concentrate on what we needed to learn.

Because of my aunt’s thoughtfulness, I look back at my Band Camp experience with fondness.  Sending me the Fruit Basket turned out to be the encouragement I needed to keep me going…to keep me focused…to see me through to the end.  It was such a great idea; I will never forget how much I appreciated it.  In fact, I plan to send a deliciously fresh Fruit Basket to other band campers in years to come.