Unexpected gifts make Christmas extra special

It's not often that anything surprises us here at the Daily Inter Lake. Those of us who have been in the business for decades sometimes feel like we've seen it all - the good, the bad and the ugly.

But once in a great while, someone does something so unexpected, so kind and benevolent that we have to pause and say "wow."

About a week or so ago an elderly Kalispell woman, the mother of one of our most ardent letter-to-the-editor writers, arrived at our doorstep with bags and bags and bags of holiday food.

We're not talking a platter of cookies here; we're talking a complete Christmas dinner, with mounds of shrimp, meats and cheeses, tasty meatballs, fancy holiday breads and cookies. There was even a huge container of pomegranate seeds, and if you've ever tried to separate the seeds from the fruit you know how time-consuming it can be.

You name it, it was in those bags. The food filled every table in our lunchroom. She'd even included trash bags for the cleanup.

Her reason? She told our managing editor she knows we work really hard here at the newspaper and she knows not everyone appreciates the work we do. We deserve a little kindness and a little appreciation, she said.

All we could do is sit back and feast, marvel at an unknown woman's generosity and say "wow."

As we learned more about this mystery woman, we discovered she coincidentally once was our assistant managing editor's spelling coach when he vied for the National Spelling Bee title in 1969.

Talk about a small world. She eventually coached a series of national spelling contenders. Seems she's been giving of her talents her entire life.

During the holiday season, stories of generosity abound. As features editor, it's difficult for me to decide which ones to feature. Some gifts or circumstances are more compelling than others, but that doesn't mean others' stories are any less important.

An example of this kind of unabashed giving is featured on today's front page. People like Charlie Stafford don't come along every day.

He has worked at Home Depot since the Kalispell store opened and for years has led the store's giving efforts, including the Adopt-a-Family at Christmas.

Challenged by the tough economic times and people's ability to give, Stafford took the project a step further this year and went around to other businesses to fill the family's wants and needs lists.

He embodies the spirit of giving so purely that it was a joy to be part of the giving this week when he and his volunteers unloaded the gifts for their adopted family.

In a time when it would be easy to say "Bah, humbug" and close our wallets, we all should follow Stafford's lead and think of others less fortunate than us.

But knowing we should do it and doing it are two different things.

There are so many ways to give. Giving to the tried-and-true causes - the Salvation Army, Red Cross, United Way, etc. - is always a good way to be charitable. They and the people they serve all desperately need our help in these tough times.

But giving to someone who will be awestruck by the generosity, like a woman making a meal for a newspaper staff, just might be the best Christmas gift of all this year.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com