"Oh, sonny, please be careful with that." The elderly Mrs. Manson said to Paul as he started to pack up her snow globe collection. Paul gave her a gentle smile, picked up a small snow globe with a bunch of tiny red hearts inside it, and handed it to her.

"Madam, could you be so kind, as to indulge me, could you tell me the story behind this snow globe?" Paul requested and the woman sighed as memories started to fill her mind.

"Oh, Alfred I miss you. Well, not too long ago my died and my granddaughter, Sam, wanted me to be happy on my first Valentines Day alone and she knew that I liked snow globes, so she demanded to go to the mall and pick out the perfect snow globe, and said that it was perfect, but her parents wanted her to look around some more to make sure that it was the perfect one. Which is total malarkey because this snow globe only cost $5 and they thought that she should get something 'that didn't look like a hand-me-down trinket', whatever that means.

"And little Sam, bless her heart, held on to that snow globe for all it's worth, and after a good hour of searching, Sam still wanted the little snow globe, but her parents thought that she was playing hardball. So they basically said 'fine' and told her that she could buy three snow globes that were little, like this, or two standard size snow globes, or one snow globe that I like to call 'overkill size', but it's a little bit bigger then a fortune teller's crystal ball. After they told little Sam this, they left her in the care of her nanny and went back to work.

"Sam was determined to get me this snow globe so she looked around for two little ones to keep the deal she had made with her parents. Eventually she found a 'snow' globe of a spooky castle and the snow was actually tiny bats and she kept this, and the other was this 'snow' globe that had an astronaut on the moon's surface and the snow was actually stars, and she gave this to a boy she likes to play with on the playground who wants to be an astronaut when he grows up.

"She took her snow globes home and she made me a tiny box out of nail polish and index cards and wrapped it in Christmas paper and placed one of her hair bows on top and presented it to me on Valentines day. Her parents actually apologized to me before they left and gave me their 'real' present, which was a new set of china plates to replace the old ones that I had. They just couldn't believe that this little snow globe could be the best present I've received in years. I suppose that Sam and I are kindred spirits who believe that a dollar sign is not the most important thing in the world. This is why I will support her and help her deal with her parents, when they go crazy." Mrs. Manson said and Paul smiled.

"Now that is an excellent story, ma'am. Seems like a story I could tell my little boy tonight. It can be a nice little way to teach him good values." He said as he taped the box in front of him.

"Oh, you have a son? How old is he?" She asked and Paul smiled.

"Thomas is four, but will be five next month." Paul said and Mrs. Manson smiled.

"Oh, goody. My Sammy just turned four, the sweet thing. Does your son go to Casper Pre-School Prep?" She asked and Paul struggled to keep his smile.

"Um, no, he just goes to Casper Pre-School." He remarked and Mrs. Manson nodded.

"Well, that's good. I always felt like Sammy should be in a normal school. She tells me that she hates the khaki uniforms they make her wear, but her parents love it. Though there was a rumor that the Prep Schools are all owned by the same guy and he wants to move to a new area. So, I keep telling Sammy to try to grin and wait, while I continue to do my best to talk her parents out of Sammy going to that school." Mrs. Manson said but something behind Paul caught her eye and she rushed out of the room.

"Please! That is my husband's desk!" She shouted, but Paul didn't even bother to turn around.

Thomas could go to that school if it wasn't so expensive. He is so good with mechanics and he is so athletic and he would fit in perfectly there. If only Baxter Boxes was doing better. Perhaps I will call my brother after we get some more work done here.