L.A.’s favorite memory is a gift from his sister

Imagine a Christmas gift that changes your life for the rest of your life.

A present given by my late sister, Aletha, altered the course of history, opened doors to the world of golf. The Jack Nicklaus Golden Bear seven-club golf set ranks as an alltime best gift, a gold standard in Christmas offerings.

Previous Christmas gifts included bicycles, basketballs, train sets and other memorable items. However, none of those gifts matched the brand new, boxed set of Golden Bear clubs.

Now, four decades removed from unwrapping those beautiful clubs, receiving gifts hold no major significance.

There have been numerous tears when Christmas gifts lay around for months without being opened.

Good memories matter more, especially those that remain from childhood days.

Put enough time in between yesterday and this moment, even fruit cake receives fond recollections.

I had approximately six years of actual memory before our family broke up like peanut brittle.

The better moments were those without alcohol, arguments and physical abuse.

Fridays were violent. Saturdays were forgiving. And Sundays, we attended church, had dinner as a family, watched Bonanza then restarted the plot on Monday.

We lived an extended version of “Groundhog Day.”

Christmas remains a special day although time has delivered heartfelt comprehension about life.

This year’s wonderful with a 19-month-old granddaughter, a college freshman son and adult daughter who has morphed into a beautiful mom, teacher and wife.

Phone calls, food, cards and enjoying the company of friends overshadows gifts.

Musician James Taylor sings that the “secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.”

Wise people know that here and now matter more than yesterday and tomorrow.

Today remains the gift. That’s why we call it the present.