My grandfather had a heart attack recently and just got back from the hospital near Boston. He's more or less confined to his chair in his retirement home. His wife (the grandmother referred to in the post below) of 63 years passed away unexpectedly last year, and he really doesn't like living by himself, so my sisters and I sent him a "get well" gift package. As he wrote in December, "It's no fun living alone, so one of my few pleasures is eating."

Like the good New England WASP that I am (Grampa says hawses, not horses), I wanted to get him something reminiscent of Maine, so I Googled "Maine Gift Basket" and found this. As I was clicking through the order process, at the last minute they asked:

If you would like "Malcolm" the talking moose to personally recite your greeting, then simply check the box below, and we will record your message exactly as you entered it. The recipient will then hear your message playback whenever they squeeze the moose! This adds that extra special personal touch that everyone is sure to enjoy.

Here's Malcolm the talking moose:


It was an extra $19.99, but I thought that was so cool, I figured oh what the heck. We'll see how well it works.