Ralph has been like a grizzly bear in a dark cave for too long, and Stacey gets a wild idea to buy him a puppy for Christmas. Maybe that will make him smile. But that plan gets detoured when she meets a homeless man who has much more to be depressed about than Ralph. "The Gift" is a story to warm your heart at the holiday season, or any day of the year. It comes from the author who won the Page Edwards Short Story Award for "Maybe Someday," one of the stories in her collection THE WISDOM OF AGES, which is also available here on Amazon. REVIEWS FOR THE WISDOM OF AGES "These three gems will make you think about time and how you use it. Maryann Miller has a rare gift for taking the pulse of ordinary lives and spinning that into extraordinary tales." -- Craig Lancaster, author of 600 Hours of Edward and The Summer Son "Miller shares her skills as a writer and her humanity in this inspiring glimpse into the realities of aging and the heartbreak of letting go." Paula Stallings Yost Editor/Author, What Wildness is This: Women Write About the Southwest "Sometimes the best stories come at the end of our lives, and so do the strongest lessons. Read Maryann Miller's poignant vignettes about aging and let them tug at your heart-strings. They capture the very essence of our tender humanity." ~ Dani Greer, author, editor and Special Projects Coordinator for Little Pickle Press,