When I was five years old, a kind neighbor gave me a snow globe with a figure of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer inside. When I shook it, Rudolph was in a blizzard of snow.
I received few gifts when I was a child, and this was a treasure beyond words. I kept it for 50 years. Other possessions came and went but Rudolph was always with me. I'd shake the globe and watch the snow swirl around Rudolph, and for a few minutes, I was a child again.
One day I picked up the globe and gave it a shake, like I'd done thousands of times. It came apart in my hands and fell to the floor and shattered. Rudolph...
