[WARNING: Graphic] Best Christmas Present Ever

[Mike]

As you may or may not know, my brother-in-law Brook shot an intruder in his home earlier this year. The man was naked and high and broke into their home. While his wife was getting the kids to safety and calling the cops, Brook grabbed a gun and warned the man to leave. The intruder literally broke down a door to get in. Brook gave him several verbal warnings along the lines of, "If you don't get out right now, I will be forced to shoot you." The man charged at Brook. Brook shot him in the leg. This did not deter him in any way. The man attacked Brook with a chair. Brook shot him in the leg one more time. The guy finally decided to sit down. He was held at gunpoint until the police arrived minutes later.

My brother-in-law is also an avid hunter. This all occured in their "sitting room" which is the front room with the good furniture that's just for company. It's also the room that has Brook's hunting trophies... his bear, his deer, his alligator.

So for Christmas, I constructed the following for him:

[WARNING: This is a little gory looking, so I'm giving some space in case that bothers you...]














Thirty bucks for a fake halloween severed leg prop. 10 bucks in supplies to buy the plaque and some stain. It looks awesome. So we wrapped it up and left it marked "To Brook" under the extended family Christmas tree. We didn't say who it was from.

Now this is the part where some people find it funny but are also a little horrified, because this is really tasteless and potentially insensitive to the human suffering, etc. I get all that. But I also know my brother-in-law, and I know this family. He's not proud of having to shoot someone, and when they talk about the incident, they always talk about how disturbed this guy was and how he needs help. But at the same time... leg trophy is pretty damn funny. And sure enough, come the big get-together this last weekend, he opens it up, and he is THRILLED. He is so tickled, he can't stop talking about it. He tried to figure out who did it, but no one fessed up. According to his wife, when they got home that night, the first thing he did was go drive over to his best friend's house to show off his trophy. He's so happy with it.

I guarantee that next time I go to his house, he's going to have that thing hanging up along with his bear and deer. Best Christmas present ever.

[Phoebe]

Wow, that's quite a leg! Impressive gift, impressive story.

[Ronster]

So creative! I should expect nothing less from one of the "Jones boys" (subtle reference to the best Indiana Jones movie of all time).