When goose down is sent a thousand miles, the gift may be light but the sentiment is weighty. – Chinese proverb
OK, I have to admit it; I really, really like getting presents. I would never expect anyone (except for my husband at my birthday and Christmas) to give me a present, and I’m always careful to let anyone who might decide to get me one know that. And as anyone who knows me in person will tell you, that’s not merely a pose on my part; I don’t say “oh, don’t get me a present” and then become angry when the person doesn’t, nor do I expect gifts at any of the numerous occasions retailers have promoted or even invented throughout the year (though I do quite like when my husband gets me valentines, and yes I keep them). And my feelings toward people don’t change because they do or don’t give me gifts. But that having been said, I still do feel a childlike sense of happiness when somebody thinks enough of me to go out of his way to give me an unexpected gift, or when a seasonal gift turns out to be more thoughtful or generous than expected.
As I’ve written before, clients often give escorts gifts and I still have many of the books, CDs, DVDs and other permanent presents I have received over the years; one regular client brought me a small present of this sort every time he saw me and I think of him every time I watch one of the movies or consult one of the books. But even with that experience, I never really expected my readers to do the same; I set up an Amazon wishlist just in case, but figured it would only come into play occasionally. That, however, was not the case; the first reader to use it was Americanus, who in March sent me a copy of Three Felonies a Day by Harvey Silverglate. Then in August, John Galt sent me a copy of Marc Stevens’ Adventures in Legal Land. That was all until November, when the avalanche started; Ted sent me both Freakonomics and Super Freakonomics, then a reader who prefers to remain anonymous sent me a bonanza: Heterophobia and Professing Feminism by Daphne Patai, A Vindication of the Rights of Whores by Gail Pheterson (editor), America’s War on Sex by Marty Klein, Harmful to Minors byJudith Levine, All or Nothing by Jessica Warner, Go Directly to Jail by Gene Healy and even the movie Klute! Last but definitely not least, just a week before Christmas a small padded envelope containing Music of the Ouled Nail arrived; I had to examine the packing list to see that Krulac sent it (and as you can see if you click that link, he got the last available copy!) I am truly grateful to all of you; your thoughtfulness lets me know that I’m really appreciated, and it touches me in a way I find difficult to express in words (which is saying a great deal).
One thing which I told all the givers, and which I’ll repeat here for all my readers, is that as a librarian and a dyed-in-the-wool used-book store lover, it doesn’t matter to me whether books or CDs you send are used or new; many of the things I like are out of print and can only be obtained used, plus used books often have a certain character. And best of all, they’re cheaper so you can spend the same amount and get more books! Of course, there’s also something to be said for a clean, virginal new book. What I’m trying to say is, I appreciate all of your gifts, whether it’s one item or several, old or new, reasonable or dear. None of you have to send me a thing, so any gift at all is a lovely and thoroughly-appreciated gesture.
Of course, not all gifts are purchased. For example, this summer Dean Clark (who is himself a professional writer) used me as the model for a character in a Sherlock Holmes story he wrote; the lady in question is Holmes’ beautiful and mysterious accompanist in a private concert, and the author hints she might even be “The Woman”, Irene Adler. As if that wasn’t flattering enough, he then had an artist friend illustrate the story, and amazingly the line-drawing of the character based on me ended up looking rather like me! So if any of my other readers are artists, writers, musicians or other creative types and are inspired to use me as a model/inspiration/muse or what-have-you, please feel free; the compliment is very much appreciated.
No post on gifts would be complete without mentioning my Christmas and birthday gifts. Those of you who are married know that after a decade it’s difficult to surprise one’s spouse with a present, but my husband certainly managed it for my birthday; not only did he get me a full-length faux mink coat (which is not only awesome looking but luxuriously warm), he also had a mug made with my “eyes” banner and The Honest Courtesan written beneath. And at Christmas he gave me a lot of small things he knows I like in addition to the first season of Bewitched (a childhood favorite) and dealing with a long-standing house maintenance issue I’ve been dreading having to deal with for months.
One Year Ago Today
“Madame de Pompadour” is a biography of the famous courtesan who was the official mistress of King Louis XV and exerted a powerful influence over the arts and letters of her time.
One more is coming!!!! XO!
I just hope you’re here when it gets here! 🙁
Can I make a confession?
Well – MY WIFE absolutely SUCKS at broadcasting what she wants for Christmas – or for any other occasion. I always keep my amazon.com wish list up to date throughout the year – there’s no “guessing” with me and I have stuff on it from about all price ranges …
But not my wife … oh noooooooooo … her list absolutely sucks.
Sooo … I used to “guess” at presents which means – as a man, I would just find something expensive to spend money on and give it as a gift. I found out though – that “expensive” doesn’t mean “wanted”.
So, about a year ago – I came up with a different idea … I started noticing that a lot of the websites for independent escorts have “gift ideas” for men who are interested in meeting them.
I looked at some of these escort “gift lists” and found some pretty damn good “girlie” ideas for gifts for my wife. I mean – really fashionable gifts that are contemporary, hip and just neat.
So I started using these lists to buy my wife gifts – and man, I’ve have NEVER GONE WRONG with this route!
So Maggie, I noticed you had a certain kind of perfume on your list – and no, I didn’t buy it for you – but I bought it for my wife! I always found that strippers just seem to have a very good taste in perfume – well, the classy one’s do anyway. I figured, hell – if Maggie likes this stuff – my wife will like it and I’ll probably LOVE it.
So for men – whose wives seem to take an evil pleasure in making you “guess” what she’d like for Christmas or Birthdays – I recommend you surf the escort sites.
It has the added benefit of … well, if your wife catches you on one of the sites – you can always confess that that is where you get your gift ideas. It’s completely logical!
I’m not a civilized, nor a very smart man – but damn – every now and then I’m GENIUS!! 🙂
Glad to be of service! 😉
You look great in the picture Maggie. Its great to see what you look like during the rare times that you give us a glimpse. I guess your a mystery wrapped inside an enigma 🙂
also im jealous about all those books around u lol. Wish i had them. I never tire of reading books that talk about this profession
Thanks, Jordan! I tend to be hypercritical of my own pictures, but that was my husband’s favorite of the ones he took even though the mug is not really visible. 🙂
You bet I like that one. 😉
Get a room you two 🙂
I like Krulac’s idea of cruising escort sites for gift ideas, and I’ll be sure to do that.
I was out of town over Christmas, so Laura and I are opening our gifts from each other tomorrow, New Year’s Eve. We may break down and do that tonight, but she’s late getting home (she had an errand to run) and I have an errand to run after she gets back, so tomorrow is likely. We both already know what we’re getting, so we can wait another sixteen hours or so.
Sometimes, you can take note of something somebody is planning to buy for herself, and buy it for her instead. This can make a fine gift, and it’s what I did for Tracy: the third season of Wonder Woman.
Tell her not to be discouraged by the crappiness of the first few episodes of that season; they get much more watchable after that until the very end.
Was that the season with the talking computer? She picked it out herself, so I don’t doubt that she’ll give it a fair chance, but I have to admit that I’m unclear on when the WWII eps ended and the modern day (well, late 1970s) eps started up.
A few years ago I saw the one where they cloned Hitler. Bit of bloody cloth goes into the machine — same haircut and mustache comes out and starts a speech about conquering ze vorld.
Ah, the cat herself in all her smooth slinkiness. Since my unfortunate debut on your blog, which you so politely excused, I’ve come to relish visiting here and reading your thoughts.
I don’t comment as much as I might because I agree almost too often and I’m too brutal in disagreement — you’re so fine, I would have you perfect.–
Best in 2012, Maggie.
Thank you very much, N/A; I appreciate both the kind words and the compliments. 😉
You got Music of the Ouled Nail? AWESOME! I would love to find it for myself so I can dance to it 🙂
Merry Christmas and happy new year!
Happy New Year to you too, Shakira! I think the download version of Music of the Ouled Nail is still available, if that will work for you. 🙂
It would be nice to hear what Tarzan listened to.
Hi Miss Maggie,
I am the fellow who sent you the Vampyres DVD, along with a note (hopefully it was printed with the package). The note should have had an alternate email address than the one in this comment. I do hope you enjoy the movie, as I am a new fan of your blog and wanted to show my appreciation. I find your site very interesting, helpful and resourceful. I’ve tried clicking the link on the home page to send you a question, so that I might be able to email you directly, but I’m getting an error that states the required default email client isn’t installed on my computer. I’m not sure why it’s doing that (maybe it wants to see outlook installed or something), but I would certainly love to get in touch to say thank you and maybe ask for your thoughts on a thing or two.
Warmest Regards,
Xavier
Thank you, Xavier! I tried emailing the address provided in the package, but it came back with a “no such address” message so I suspect that’s related to the error message you received. Welcome to the blog! I’ve taken the liberty of deleting your address from public view for your own privacy, but I can still see it. 🙂