- no you boys will never know -

...I want a goat.

These words, with subsequent explanation, was my mother's response to my inquiry as to what she wanted for Christmas.

To be specific, she wants to buy a goat for another person, sight unseen, so they can further their living; somewhere else - it doesn't matter to her where, so long as it goes. Somewhere.

I realized, upon logging in to the website she forwarded to me afterward, that the chicken/rooster combo was more in my price range, but raced through the pages - micromanagement loan here, llama there, emergency kit supply over there - of suggested gift ideas, eyes tearing at the (excellent) photography and the message behind it.

It makes my requests - among them an electric wok, Starbucks gift cards, and CDs - seem so banal; extraneous, unnecessary.

Worse yet, that my innate skepticism had me wondering "well, all fine and dandy, but what kind of overhead goes into this slick website and the heartstring-tugging awareness commercials?" (In fairness, definitely less than, say, your average iPod campaign, but.)

It raised a few questions about the ethics of giving, not least in knowing the effect of your gift - and whether it makes it to people in need. Odd that I'm more comfortable with the thought of giving a gift (a picture frame; a bath and body set; movie tickets) that may have been well-thought-out but never used.

They're definitely thoughts to mull on.

But for now, I'm off to buy a rooster.

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♥ music of the moment: no you girls