Why I bought a radio controlled forklift truck
Once again Christmas was rolling around and I sat there thinking about what on earth I was going to do about Tom. Every year it was the same thing. The man who had everything, who wanted for nothing. Tom was a very successful businessman who ran a major manufacturing company and his life was filled with all the boys toys one could possible wish for, along with holidays, cars, watches, and summer homes that were set in the most beautiful locations.
It was becoming increasingly difficult for me to find special presents for him for any occasion and Christmas was even more difficult as he would be opening it in front of friends and family. After all, I should know him the best and be able to think of little thing that would make him happy. Little things that would bring a smile to his face. I didn't want to let him down, I wanted somehow to be able to show him that I knew him better than he knew himself, and to show him I loved him.
While out shopping one day I saw a radio controlled forklift truck. It caught my attention as it was manoeuvred around by a man in his mid thirties. The man had a look of pure concentration as he tried desperately to pick up a mini pallet with the radio controlled forklift truck. He looked like a child on Christmas morning. At that moment I could imagine Tom sitting on the sofa with his controller trying to move his mini pallets from place to place with that same look of concentration.
Tom had started out 10 years ago as a forklift driver and worked his way to the empire he has now created. Part of me thought the radio controlled forklift truck might remind him of a simpler time when things were less complicated and the stress of being responsible for running his own company didn't exist. I knew he loved his business but at times it took most of his energy just to keep it going. If I could give him the gift of going back even momentarily to a simpler time than that would become the perfect gift.
I went into the shop to make my purchase knowing that it was the most perfect gift I could have ever found. On Christmas morning I waited with anticipation hoping that Toms reaction would be one of a child. When he opened the present he looked at me with love in his eyes and I knew he understood the meaning. He played with the radio controlled forklift truck for most of the morning and eventually mastered those mini pallets. He now keeps his radio controlled forklift truckon his desk in his office. He says it reminds him of where he was and helps him to focus on where he is going. I am so glad I found the radio controlled forklift truck, it may have seemed nothing more than a toy to some but to me it truly was the perfect gift.
