When I was seven years old during the sixties, all I wanted for Christmas was a GI Joe. My best friend's little sister reluctantly let me improvise with her "Ken" doll, but I was tired of him. He didn't have an action grip like the real GI Joes' and the other guys were always beating him up. I nagged my parents incessantly. My mom always said she did not want me glorifying war as her reason for not getting me what I wanted. I knew that was only half the story. The other issue was really about money, or the lack thereof. Then one day my life changed... This is a tender and touching story of...