Dad found a reason to give gifts, year-round. If he had extra money in his pocket, he’d spend it on someone else, but during the holidays, he was extra generous. He would say that money was burning a hole in his pocket, so he had to spend it.

Sometimes he would gift people with cash, just to get by or to pay a bill. Sometimes he would gift people with a dozen fresh warm Shipley’s donuts or a dozen tamales and for a select few, a smoked Kentucky ham. Santa had nothing on “The Mailman.”

I don’t remember when dad started gifting me and the kids with the “As seen on TV” gifts, but it might have been around the time Julia and Olivia started commenting on those commercials when they watched TV together with Papa. They would say “ohhh, I love that” or “ohh, mom could use that.” Honestly, I didn’t think much of the products or gadgets, they seemed pretty chessy or too good to be true. For dad, he saw those ASOTV products as gifts.

He saved those ASOTV gifts for Christmas. I could not figure out where he was getting them until I went with him to a VA appointment and found a whole section at the gift shop. He told me I discovered his secret and I promised not to tell. He loved seeing the surprise on the girls faces and although chessy at first, I learned that the gift was not the product, but the love and the thought and the effort dad put into finding each one.

Even though we don’t get any more ASOTV gifts, I do still watch those informercials and although cheesy, I do think of dad and imagine him finding that just right gift in his secret isle at the VA gift shop.

Some of my favorite As Seen On TV gifts were my Snuggie, because dad always wanted me to be comfortable when I rest; Julia’s pajama jeans, which she wore ALL the time and Olivia’s chia-pets mostly because she just collected them. My all-time favorite, As Seen On TV gift, that I still use today, is the perfect brownie pan, you know the one that has perfect portion divider so every piece is a center piece. It doesn’t get any more perfect than that.