When I was very young, I was given a Batman utility belt for Christmas.  It was a wonderful gift for a lesbian child.  The wide plastic belt clipped on important tools and accessories.  A tiny metal flashlight with the black bat sign over a grey metal shaft shone a light beam across the tip top of the pine tree that was planted in a shallow basin of water under a braced stand in the living room.  The tree towered over me.  That was no problem because there was a bat rope on the utility belt to lasso it and pull the branches in another direction.  The belt buckle itself hid a nice sized yellow stash box with the Bat sign on the face.  A secret decoder ring came with the Batman belt and tools.  It fit in the stash box.  I remember a plastic handkerchief or kite, but that may have been a later acquisition.  My father claims that the Batman utility belt was intended as a gift for my little brother.  He was too young to really enjoy it.  I may have adopted the gift and forgotten it was his.  It was a merry Christmas.  My moral purpose was to strap on that Batman equipment and enjoy my adventures.  I ran through the house singing the Batman television program theme song.  Da na Na na na na, na na, Batman!  I was a high action child in the Christmas season.  At five, I was feeling confident and looking for a way to fight villains.  A couple of years earlier at three, I mounted one of those plastic rocking ponies suspended on springs on a stand.  I rocked out until the Christmas tree fell over on me.  I can feel the hot lights and prickly pine needles on my skin.  A posse of concerned relatives rescued me before any digit or limb burned.  That was before I got the Batman utility belt.   I asked if people wanted to come back to the Bat Cave, cleverly hidden under some blankets on the back porch.  My grandmother exclaimed that I was a gift from God.  I agree.  A lesbian child is a gift.  We had a merry Christmas.  When you are out shopping for that special child (or special inner child), don’t be afraid to share some action adventures.  Granny said it was ok to build a cozy cave with your favorite blankets and invite special friends in.  Across secular time and space, I wish everyone a merry holiday