Stan Adams writes: At my first office job (in college), I continued my childhood habit (instilled in me by my mother and grandmother) of giving small Christmas gifts to all of my co-workers.
One of my female co-workers looked at the gift and said, “Um … you do know I’m Jewish, right? I don’t celebrate Christmas.”
I said, “Well, think of it as a Hanukkah gift.”
“Hanukkah is over.”
“Well, it’s just a seasonal gift.”
“There’s no such thing as a seasonal gift.”
“Just think of it as a nice gesture.”
“It’s not a nice gesture. It’s a Christmas gift, and don’t try to pretend that it’s something else.”
“Well, then maybe I should just take it back.”
“No, it’s all right. I’m not overly offended. I’ll keep it.”
(She never did say “Thank you.”)
The next year, I didn’t bother with the gifts. I was tempted to give that particular woman a card saying “Happy Kwanzaa, you f**king c**t,” but I didn’t.
