Many, many years ago I was TDY to help open a diplomatic facility in a really remote part of the world. It was probably only my third or fourth trip outside the United States and it was by far the most underdeveloped area I’d ever been to. The chief of the facility and his wife had arrived a few days before I did. The Marine Guards that were assigned there had also just arrived and the Seabees had been there for a few weeks overseeing the construction of the hew compound,
After I’d been there a couple of weeks, the facility chief’s wife announced that in a few days it would be her husband’s birthday and he had never had a birthday party. Well, that was all any of us needed to take a little break from work. But — as I said, this was by far the most underdeveloped place I’d ever been and in such a place coming up with suitable gifts presented a challenge. For the party, we all colored on paper “tablecloths” with crayons and came up with a few games to play. But the gifts were what I’d have to say were very creative and really made the party. There were the usual nonsense gifts, but someone came up with a large donkey and the birthday boy also received a ram, with really big horns — a gift from the Seabees, I suppose, because their mascot is a ram. But maybe the best gift was a big, ugly camel — from the Marine Guards.
These unique gifts made the party even better, because we all got to ride the donkey and camel and a few people even tried to wrestle the ram. Thinking back, it was probably the best birthday party I’ve ever been to. And if there was ever any doubt, it made me realize I had fallen into a job that I could never have imagined and would provide memories forever.
Some years later I was told that the camel was returned to the Marines and they sold it and used the proceeds to fund their Marine Ball. I’m not sure what happened to the donkey or ram or the other “gifts.”
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