Back in December of 2007 I became Andy's Secret Santa. An honor I'm sure many would kill for was bestowed upon me. Oh, the pressure. What to get the man who doesn't want any interaction with us 'lonely hippies'.
I finally decided upon a out of print book called Songs In The Rough which has copies of first drafts of some of the most popular songs written. It even includes James Taylor. Maybe not a winner, but it showed I thought about it.
In Early January of 2008, I received a phone call from Andy. He's very nice and polite and speaks clearly over the phone. This is the infamous call where he gave me several of his jokes to use on stage. He also asked for my mailing address to send me my Secret Santa gift. I gave him my P.O. Box because I don't give out my home address to writers. I just don't.
Several days later...a package arrived....
The return address (obscured for this picture) informed me it was from Andy and I raced home to open it.
Before I tore into it I noticed something odd. Namely, who the package was addressed to. It read: Greg Baciocco. I'm Grant Baciocco. My father is Greg Baciocco. Was Andy now sending mail to my father?
I figured, no, it's probably meant for me. So I opened it and found the following note lovingly written to me on the inside of the package.
In case it's not clear the note inside reads:
Grant- It was great finally talking to you. Here, belatedly, is a holiday gift. I bought it for you. I'm not just regifting something I found in the basement. I went out and shopped and bought it. You have to believe me. It's not the first thing I found just sitting, forgotten, on some shelf, downstairs. I swear to God, I went out and shopped. Anyway I hope you have some batteries and play chess. Merry Christmas, Andy
And inside....
A vintage Excaliber Electronics Touch Chess game. I say vintage only in that it's no longer available. The amount of throught put into this gift, given Andy's busy schedule is nothing short of amazing! This must have been sitting on the store shelf for awhile as it's dusty. It's new, never been used. But it is the perfect gift. I do not know how to play chess and do not have friends. Now I can learn! I know, I know jealousy abounds. Thank you Andy Breckman! Merry Christmas!