Justin Werfel

Two to one. That was the score. My father is not an easy man to give presents to. It's not that he doesn't like surprises. It's more that he doesn't like anything. And he's not shy about saying so.

Two to one. That was the score. My father is not an easy man to give presents to. It's not that he doesn't like surprises. It's more that he doesn't like anything. And he's not shy about saying so.

Two to one. That was the score. My father is not an easy man to give presents to. It's not that he doesn't like surprises. It's more that he doesn't like anything. And he's not shy about saying so.

So while the rest of my family is all gathered around exchanging gifts, you know, trying to share with our loved ones the things that we found for them that we thought would delight them, my dad opens a present and says, oh, why'd you waste your money on this? I don't want it. Which isn't such an easy thing to hear when you're, you know, six. But you get used to it.

So while the rest of my family is all gathered around exchanging gifts, you know, trying to share with our loved ones the things that we found for them that we thought would delight them, my dad opens a present and says, oh, why'd you waste your money on this? I don't want it. Which isn't such an easy thing to hear when you're, you know, six. But you get used to it.

So while the rest of my family is all gathered around exchanging gifts, you know, trying to share with our loved ones the things that we found for them that we thought would delight them, my dad opens a present and says, oh, why'd you waste your money on this? I don't want it. Which isn't such an easy thing to hear when you're, you know, six. But you get used to it.

Which doesn't mean that you stop trying. My sister and I had a running competition. Throughout our whole lives, we kept track of how many presents each of us had gotten for him that he'd actually liked. And the lifetime score was two to one. To be fair, he was always very clear about what he actually wanted. And that was a sports car.

Which doesn't mean that you stop trying. My sister and I had a running competition. Throughout our whole lives, we kept track of how many presents each of us had gotten for him that he'd actually liked. And the lifetime score was two to one. To be fair, he was always very clear about what he actually wanted. And that was a sports car.

Which doesn't mean that you stop trying. My sister and I had a running competition. Throughout our whole lives, we kept track of how many presents each of us had gotten for him that he'd actually liked. And the lifetime score was two to one. To be fair, he was always very clear about what he actually wanted. And that was a sports car.

Which I think is the traditional present you get for a child for their parent, if you're the emperor of the 12 kingdoms. I mean, obviously he didn't expect to get one as a present, but from his point of view, it was like, why would he want some other thing that he didn't want? So we would get him things that we could, that we thought he would like, and he would vocally not want them.

Which I think is the traditional present you get for a child for their parent, if you're the emperor of the 12 kingdoms. I mean, obviously he didn't expect to get one as a present, but from his point of view, it was like, why would he want some other thing that he didn't want? So we would get him things that we could, that we thought he would like, and he would vocally not want them.

Which I think is the traditional present you get for a child for their parent, if you're the emperor of the 12 kingdoms. I mean, obviously he didn't expect to get one as a present, but from his point of view, it was like, why would he want some other thing that he didn't want? So we would get him things that we could, that we thought he would like, and he would vocally not want them.

That was the system. There was one time when I was probably seven or eight, I went into a Hallmark store, and they used to sell these little cardboard jigsaw puzzles, like 100 pieces in a square little box. There was a section of the store devoted to these, Which actually, now that I'm looking back on this and saying this out loud, strikes me as really kind of strange.

That was the system. There was one time when I was probably seven or eight, I went into a Hallmark store, and they used to sell these little cardboard jigsaw puzzles, like 100 pieces in a square little box. There was a section of the store devoted to these, Which actually, now that I'm looking back on this and saying this out loud, strikes me as really kind of strange.

That was the system. There was one time when I was probably seven or eight, I went into a Hallmark store, and they used to sell these little cardboard jigsaw puzzles, like 100 pieces in a square little box. There was a section of the store devoted to these, Which actually, now that I'm looking back on this and saying this out loud, strikes me as really kind of strange.

100-piece jigsaw puzzles, that's a really specific niche audience. I mean, you've gotta be enough of a control freak to enjoy setting things in order for recreation, but also too impatient for something that's gonna take you more than a couple of minutes. Anyway, I used to be really into these. I had a whole collection.

100-piece jigsaw puzzles, that's a really specific niche audience. I mean, you've gotta be enough of a control freak to enjoy setting things in order for recreation, but also too impatient for something that's gonna take you more than a couple of minutes. Anyway, I used to be really into these. I had a whole collection.

100-piece jigsaw puzzles, that's a really specific niche audience. I mean, you've gotta be enough of a control freak to enjoy setting things in order for recreation, but also too impatient for something that's gonna take you more than a couple of minutes. Anyway, I used to be really into these. I had a whole collection.

And so I went into the store that day and went to the inexplicable little cardboard puzzle section, see what they had. And oh my God, there was a puzzle there with a photograph of a red Ferrari. And in big letters on the box, it said, your very own sports car, some assembly required. Perfect. could not wait for the next gift-giving occasion to come around.

And so I went into the store that day and went to the inexplicable little cardboard puzzle section, see what they had. And oh my God, there was a puzzle there with a photograph of a red Ferrari. And in big letters on the box, it said, your very own sports car, some assembly required. Perfect. could not wait for the next gift-giving occasion to come around.