My mom started freaking out about leaving for Amherst today, and pulled out all her boots, woolen socks, and started making piles of what I have to bring. We were upstairs, digging through the guest room closet where my mom keeps her mountains of crap, trying to find a throw for me to take, when my mom suddenly pulled out this piece of bright red cloth, brighter than even any Liverpool jersey. It was the length of a scarf, but seemed too wide. My mom stared at it for a second, then looked up at me, and asked, "Do you know what this is?"
"Uhh.. no.. a really small blanket?"
"This is from, back when your mom and your dad were first dating, your dad bought this for me."
"Aww really??"
"Wait. I'm not sure.. I think so."
"Wow, mom. You're terrible. Keep all your boyfriends straight!"
She laughed, and threw the scarf at me, "You can have it now. Take it to Amherst with you."

I went home a bit after that and found my dad lying on the couch, half watching TV, half falling asleep, as he always is, and as my grandpa used to always be, and I asked, scarf clutched in my hand, "Daddy! Guess what this is!"
It took my dad half a glance to say, "That's the scarf I bought your mom thirty years ago in 1979 in Changchun, in the store (insert store name) on this street (insert street name)."
"Wow Dad. How do you remember this stuff?"
He chuckled to himself, proud and gleeful that his memory, something he had been constantly worrying about losing, was still intact, and asked, "So your mom gave it to you? Good. It finally belongs to someone who deserves it."
He then asked me how much I thought that scarf cost, and knowing that a kilogram of meat back then was only one yuan, and meat was one of the most expensive things you could buy during those times of famine and hardship, and that things are still ridiculously cheap in China, I didn't quite know what to say. My dad answered for me, "10 yuan. Back then, I made 40 yuan a month, and I spent 10 of it on that scarf for your mom. It's like if I made $4000 a month now and I spent $1000 on her."
I gave my daddy a big hug after that, and bounded up the stairs to place my new (but old) scarf respectfully in my room. After a while, my dad came back upstairs, his mind still on the scarf. "I'm so happy right now. You have the scarf! Now it's with its rightful owner. Your mom used to look so pretty wearing it, but I'm sure you'll look better," and before he finished speaking, he'd taken the scarf and demonstrated just what he thought I would look like... so disturbing. My dad with a red scarf wrapped around his head like an old Russian lady.

And right now, as I just gave my daddy a long hug and asked him, "So why'd you spend so much money on a scarf?"
He laughed and said, "Because I wanted to give it to you!!!"
That is my epic tale of the scarf. :) I shall pass it on to my children!