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A Genius for Giving by Joseph Lahey As a child I had a very serious bone disease that settled in my spine. The only cure was rest -- I had to keep my back immobile, strapped on a board. My case was considered hopeless. But I was eight years old and all I thought about was being well again. Out running, jumping, playing like the rest of the kids. At Christmas everyone was especially kind and generous to me. I had a Christmas tree in my room, my family heaped presents on my bed. I was being treated like a condemned man who can have anything he wants for his last meal. The presents had been carefully selected -- gifts for a sick boy tied in bed. Checker games, stuffed animals, books. I had an Uncle Bob who was considered the black sheep of the family. He drank, he gambled -- he always seemed to do the outrageous things. But I’ll never forget the present Uncle Bob gave me that Christmas. A pair of roller skates. You can imagine what my parents thought. How inappropriate! How sad! A present our son will never use. But you know what I thought? That was the greatest present of all! The only present for when I got well! Java Script for Lake Applet from David Griffiths 
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