Grandpa Gave Me a Green Plastic Soldier on My Birthday for Years — One Day I Finally Understood Why, and I Was Utterly Stunned

he’s trying to tell you something,” she teased. “Like… you’re supposed to take over a toy store.”

“Or he’s slowly replacing my brain with plastic,” I replied.

But deep down, I was starting to wonder if the ritual meant something more. Every year, the same gift, wrapped in the same kind of yellowed newspaper with war headlines and crossword puzzles half-completed continue reading …