O. Henry’s famous story “The Gift of the Magi,” written in 1906, should be mandatory reading for the new shopper out on Thanksgiving among the pepper-spraying con$umers and the gun-toting $hoppers. O. Henry wrote about a young, working-class couple, who had no extra money for Christmas presents after a big pay-cut eats into their income. Each was unselfish: Jim Young sold his gold watch from his grandfather to buy combs for wife Della’s beautiful, long chestnut hair. In turn, Della sold her hair to a wig maker to buy a chain for Jim’s watch. O. Henry made the connection to the Magi, who brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to baby Jesus. Is this life lesson at Christmas lost on the hardcore consumers who ran out before the turkey had cooled on Thanksgiving Day? Is it lost on the shoppers who lined up a day before Thanksgiving to be first in the door, or on the media, driven by the need to convince the public that Thanksgiving tradition is dead and consumerism is to be celebrated? It seems Thanksgiving may simply be a dress rehearsal for Chri$tmas. It appears today’s consumer has sold his soul. The headlines on Cyber Monday after a wild Thanksgiving Thursday and Black Friday point out the success of breaking tradition on Thanksgiving with early store openings rather than breaking a wishbone in a warm home. At the risk of becoming a Scrooge, I shake my head in disbelief at 2011 when a torrent of shoppers headed out early on Thanksgiving rather than enjoying the traditional American holiday featuring family and food. Still, there are tales of O. Henry whispered by people feeling the pain of the stinging economy. One woman, for example, shared her holiday story. While visiting a stepson in Northern California, she and her husband brought her husband’s son a beautiful basket that he had admired years before in the Museum of Northern Arizona. He had fallen on hard financial times, as had she and many other people. To keep the wolf from the door, as the saying goes, she prepared to sell her mother’s diamond ring, passed down to her through generations. She had come to terms with her choice, thinking of how the Great Depression had impacted her mother’s generation in much the same way. Both husband and wife had a conversation with their adult daughter about giving things away to make room for new gifts. Later that night, her husband said he had received a call from their other daughter. She had called the jewelry store and asked them to hold the ring. She gave her mother the money needed to keep the ring, so she could hold on to her family heirloom. The beautiful basket the couple had bought for their son made room for a generous gift from their daughter. — Sandy Lippe is a 36-year resident of University City and the former president of the University City Community Association.