Saturday, March 7, 2009  Say "Thank You", Gordon  Maybe I'm
looking at a certain situation all wrong, but I'm extremely
confused about something. See, I was either taught or I learned
along the way (sorry, parents) that if I received a gift, any
gift, I was to be appreciative of said damn gift. I cannot tell
you how many times I was reminded that no one has to give me
anything, that there might be traditions, but there are not
obligations when it comes to gift giving. Therefore, one should
make themselves as gift-worthy as they can if they would like to
receive any gift during their earthly existence. (OK, that last
sentence wasn't ever said in those terms to me, thank God, but I
got the gist!)  So I'm a bit confused as to why the Brits are
all up in arms about the gifts that they received from the
Obamas. First of all, I guess I'm a bit naive to the placating
practice of heads of state exchanging gifts with one another
when either are visiting. Apparently, the gift? Quite a big deal
(at least for the Brits).