The first Christmas recalled was in Guatemala. Santa Claus would give us gifts at school but it was the Magi responsible for the important ones. On Christmas eve, mom and dad would also give us something special. For that night I wanted a bean sandwich and a tamale wrapped in banana leaves. This was with the understanding that they not be shared with anyone. On the 12th night, the Wise Men, with gifts hidden in their beards, would bring me a cap pistol with a trigger and a hammer. An unexpected saw came in the same box as the hammer. Maybe in the shop down the street, where they made coffins, I could get a job.