Instead of us bringing housewarming gifts to her, somehow or other Gina ended up unloading a great deal of her collection of stale, holiday-themed candy on us.
Standing at the bus stop with a large stack of last year's advent calendars, we had no choice but to choose an unsuspecting victim. The poor unfortunate soul was waiting for the same bus as us. He was a tad grubby around the edges, with a tad more than a five-o-clock shadow. "This is for you," Andy said, handing him an advent calendar.
The guy looked puzzled, so he had to explain what it was. "How much do I pay you?" the man asked, in some sort of accent. "It's free," Andy explained, "I'm giving it to you." The man perked up at this revelation and began to shake Andy's hand vigorously.
Ah yes, The Gift. Marcel Mauss. Essai sur le don. Forme et raison de l'échange dans les sociétés archaïques, 1923. So much can be accomplished by so little, a simple exchange of goods.
The man soon went back to looking just as uncomfortable around us dumbasses as he had before.
Nothing sobers you up better than the long bus ride home.
|