In O Henry‘s short story The Gift of the Magi,a young couple at the turn of the century in NYC dreamed of getting each other magnificent presents for Christmas but they were short on cash. They lived in a humble eight dollar a month flat. Della only had 1 dollar 87 cents. It was hard to make ends meet on Jim’s twenty dollar a week job. As a couple they had two treasured possessions, she had her long luxurious hair and he had a golden watch.
It was Christmas eve and in Della’s distress she decided to sell her hair to get Jim’s present. Her hair sold for twenty dollars. She shrugged off the loss and rushed to get the perfect present. She found a beautiful chain for his watch. She knew he would treasure it.
When Jim arrived home Della worried he might not approve of her short hair. He was transfixed but his surprise became clear when she unwrapped the present he had bought for her. It was a magnificent set of combs with tortoise shell and gems. She had dreamed of them every time she passed then in a Broadway shop window. She then gave him the present of the watch chain. He fell back on the couch and laughed as he had sold his watch to get her present. Though he had no watch for the chain and she had no long flowing hair for the combs, they loved each other dearly and embraced.
In a modern re-telling of the tale, I imagine the couple would share their love by staying home on Christmas and staying away from crowded family celebrations and holiday parties. They would share the gift of life as the hope of new vaccines might save them from the year long pandemic that terrorized their city and the entire world.
The first shots of the Pfizer vaccine were administered yesterday December 14, 2020 to nurses and doctors on the front lines. Moderna‘s Covid-19 vaccine as then found too be 94 percent effective at preventing symptomatic illness and appears to prevent the spread of the virus as well, according to documents released Tuesday December 15, 2020. So hope is on the horizon, but most people must face several more months of the worst of the pandemic before they can get this hope for a future life.