Discover Smith Mountain Lake
WINTER 2016
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this, don’t buy additional minutes for my cell phone.
I don’t use it. If it rings I can’t retrieve it from my
granny-sized purse until the person calling has given
up and hung up, or gone to voice mail, which I can’t
retrieve until I look up my password on my iPad…
which is at home. And, if I need to make a call, it
has probably shut itself down because I forgot to
charge it. Plus, I don’t have the room or outlets in my
house for any more “chargers”, and my ego can’t take
another man made device that’s smarter than me.
Anyway, if you are buying for an elderly person, you
may be interested in a couple ideas for Christmas
presents that will benefit them, other than the
cameras mentioned above.
A couple of years ago, Ron, a young friend of mine,
decided to buy
an outdoor security camera
for his
father, who is in frail health. Crime in the older man’s
Blacksburg community hasn’t been a problem, but
Ron thought it was a security feature that should be
added for
his
peace of mind and besides, he needed
to get his difficult-to-buy-for father a Christmas
present.
The camera has night vision, of course, and a sensor,
so any movement starts it rolling. Ron installed it
in such a way that it picks up nearly all of his dad’s
backyard activity. What Ron hadn’t realized when he
bought the camera was the hours of entertainment
that it would provide his father, as he watches each
day what was filmed while he slept. Over the months,
they have captured video of both wild and domestic
animals that come to forage or simply to cut through
the yard on their way to the nearby woods. Even
an occasional black bear has been filmed, not to
mention proof that a certain neighbor’s dog was
leaving presents of a different nature.
Last year, Ron decided to update his dad’s TV for
his birthday. He went with a flat screen that is so
large that news and show personalities are life-
sized. Plus it has all the latest bells and whistles,
including
the ability to show videos from the
security cameras. He knew his father would object
mightily to the cost, but he bought the TV anyway.
However, before he delivered it, he called and told
his father:
“I’m coming with your birthday present and I’m
running a little late, so before I get there I want
you to figure out where you want me to chain it in
your yard.”
“Chain it… in my yard?” His surprised dad asked.
“What is it?”
“A goat,” was Ron’s reply. The phone went silent.
“A goat?”
“Yeah, I figured he would help keep the weeds and
grass down. Plus, you don’t need to worry that I
spent too much. He didn’t cost a thing. I’ll see you
in a few minutes.”
He hung up before the older man could comment.
When Ron drove in to his dad’s driveway, he could
see his father’s face pressed against the window
pane, his hand held up to block the sunlight, in
order to glimpse this goat that he was soon going
to own. Even his father’s care-giver, who was
standing alongside him, was curious.
Instead of going to the front door as his dad
expected, Ron went through the garage with the
TV on his shoulder. When he entered the house,
his father was still peering intently out the living
room window, nervous no doubt as to what on
earth he was going to do with a goat. He hasn’t
complained since about how much Ron spends on
his gifts or what he buys.
