Victor Hugo for Victor Hugo

There's a student at my school whose name is nearly the same as the famous french author. The student's name is Victor Hugo O. So today I handed him a print-out of Victor Hugo's wikipedia page and the cover of Les Miserables. He laughed when he saw the pages.

ONE GOOD DEED: Introduce my student to his accidental namesake.

A trip to Ely, a bird for R

My girlfriend R and I went up to my grandparents' lakeside cabin near Ely. The trees were illuminated with fall colors as we made our way up to northern Minnesota.

When we got to Ely, we meandered around the town for a bit. R dashed into a nick nack shop and found a cute little porcelain bird. Later, after exploring the rest of the shop, she came back to buy it, only to find it was already sold! Who could have bought it?

ONE GOOD DEED: Buy a porcelain bird for R.

And the book goes to... R

I found a book in the rain on Thursday, though it had hardly taken on any water. Sometimes the universe gives you things, and then you have to figure out what to do with them. I tried a couple of people who might like it, but in the end I give to my girlfriend R-- who I did not think would like it. But she wanted it, so there you have it. It left me as unexpectedly as it had come.

The book was Einstein's Dreams, by Alan Lightman.

ONE GOOD DEED: Give R the book I found in the rain.

Toe socks for R

I don't know how long I had those tiny little toe socks stashed among my clothes. They'd just turned up in the wash one day, obviously forgotten by some previous person. They were far too small for my feet. I guess I just thought eventually I'd find somebody who fit them.

Not exactly like the story of Cinderella and the glass slipper, but R fit the toe socks just the same.

ONE GOOD DEED: Give R a pair of toe socks.

Kendama and a Hebrew alphabet for cousin R's boy

My cousin R has a boy who's half-Jewish and will soon start Torah-Talmud school. When I unearthed an old set of wooden tile Hebrew alphabet letters I'd engraved years ago, I wondered if he might like them.

I also found a Japanese toy called a kendama, which consists of a ball on a string tied to hand-held stick with several plates and pegs. The goal is to get the ball to land on the plates and pegs.

ONE GOOD DEED: Give cousin R's boy a set of Hebrew alphabet tiles and a Japanese kendama.

Flowers for R

I wasn't back in the states more than a month when I met R. She's the best thing to happen to me in a long time. I wanted to say something special to her, but how? Walking through the Minneapolis Farmer's Market, I noticed an extraordinary bouquet with ornamental kale and vivid red flowers like sea anemone. Immediately I knew how to say it.

ONE GOOD DEED: Have a bouquet of flowers delivered to R at work.

Kurt Vonnegut for R

I met a wonderful girl named R. She likes Kurt Vonnegut, and I happened to have his collected works collecting dust on my shelf. Gee, what to do?

ONE GOOD DEED: Give R the collected works of Kurt Vonnegut.

Chick Tracts for my cousin

Cousin R loves Chick Tracts too. You know Chick Tracts? They're those obnoxious religious comic book pamphlets that condemn everything from Islam to Dungeons & Dragons.

ONE GOOD DEED: Give R my Chick Tracts.

Akira Kurosawa magnets for my cousin

My cousin R loves Akira Kurosawa-- the director of Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Rashimon, etc. He came over to my apartment last night and helped me arrange the place. He loves interior design, but he says no one takes him seriously because he's not gay! So he gave my place "a straight man's touch."

ONE GOOD DEED: Give my cousin magnets with Akira Kurosawa movie paintings on them.

Ren Fest turkey leg for... that guy-gal over there

I went to the Renaissance Festival with a friend today. You know those giant smoked turkey legs they have there?--I just had to have one. My friend was indecisive though. I thought she finally said "yeah", but when I got back with two turkey legs, she said it was actually a "naah." So I gave it to the trannie in a Maid Marion dress she happened to be talking to.

ONE GOOD DEED: Give away a turkey leg to a stranger.

Wine for the party

A new friend invited me to a party tonight. I met her for the first time the other night, but she happens to be from the same hometown, and her mom was my high school art teacher! Anyway, it was a nice outdoor BBQ with her friends. I'm getting plugged in to the community!

ONE GOOD DEED: Give wine to the hosts of the party.

Mountain Dew for my brother's birthday

When my brother's birthday came around, I could only think of one thing to get him--the sugary green ichor that flows in his veins and supports his very life.

ONE GOOD DEED: Buy Mountain Dew for my brother's birthday.

Cream puffs and strawberries for grandma

Tonight was my last night at my grandparents' place, so I bought them cream puffs and strawberries for dessert that night. We played cards together and had a great last night.

ONE GOOD DEED: Buy dessert for my grandparents.

Cream puffs for all

I got a car today! It's a 2001 Honda Prelude. My uncle helped me a lot with the complications of the deal, and my grandmother has been graciously cooking for me while I stay at her place. So, I wanted to say thank you. I found out they really liked cream puffs, but hadn't gotten them for a long time. When I went to look for them, I just happened to get lucky. Their faces beamed that evening at dessert time.

ONE GOOD DEED: Say thank you to my uncle and grandma with a gift of cream puffs.

Yokan for P

I dropped in on an old friend today. He's a painter with a... unique... personality. I missed him and our unforgettable conversations.

ONE GOOD DEED: Give my friend some yokan--a kind of sweet red bean paste jelly--from Japan.

Oak Leaves for my friend in Tokyo

Oak Leaves is a publication of an organization to which both I and my friend in Tokyo belong. Not wanting to carry the weight all the way home, I was happy to give him all my hard copies.

ONE GOOD DEED: Give my friend in Tokyo all my Oak Leaves magazines.

An ivory melon for my Japanese teacher

I left my town of Obira today. My friends gathered at the bus stop to see me off. I even cried a bit after the bus pulled away.

Today I am visiting my Japanese teacher in Eniwa one last time before flying from New Chitose Airport tomorrow. I gave her a rare kind of melon called an ivory melon, which is only grown in my town and a handful of other places in Japan, and can only be found in this season.

ONE GOOD DEED: Give my teacher an ivory melon from Obira.

A computer for my successor

The new teacher who is taking over for me in Obira arrived last night, and I am training him in today. One of the things I'm leaving to him is my desktop PC, since I'm getting a laptop anyway and I'd rather not pay to ship the thing home anyway.

ONE GOOD DEED: Give my successor a computer for free.

Coins for Tatsuro

A neighbor boy has gotten interested in coins from around the world, so I gave him all I had left from Thailand, Malaysia, Canada, the EU, and America.

ONE GOOD DEED: Give Tatsuro my foreign coins for his collection.

One last book for the library

Everything's all packed up and ready to go. But I found one last book that I couldn't bear to throw out. The library will make a better home for it than the trash.

ONE GOOD DEED: Donate a book to the local library.