What to give a Depressed Man

Already having shown my amazing ability to obsess over nothing, I shall now demonstrate my mind's penchant for silliness.

Nico is depressed. I should know, cos I was depressed up until recently myself, and I can just hear it in his voice. He made great effort to contact me and explain to me what was going on, which isn't easy when you are speaking to someone on a balcony with a toothbrush in their mouth while dancing to Los Jaivas, and you have to get her to repeat everything anyway cos she doesn't speak Spanish that fluently. I kept thinking about how, despite my obsessing, we had agreed that we need to enjoy ourselves. I don't want to lose sight of that.

Ironically, that was what we both did, both decending into our individual worries and lows. Irrespective of whether things work out or not, I know we are right in thinking we have something in common, and hopefully it will last into some sort of relationship, be it friendship or more. I think we have a positive effect on each others' humor, and I also find myself trusting this person, with only intuition as my guide. Let's hope there is no fall.

So I once again tried to explain to Nico that I really don't want to worry about tomorrow, that the deal was we will have fun, and if it is not fun cos he is feeling shit, then we should just meet when he feels better. I laughed a lot with him to try and warm him a bit, which I hope he didn't find fake or irritating, but gradually he began to warm up a little.

So I spent today thinking "What do you give a man who is depressed?" The last thing I want to do is to make him feel he owes me, but I want him to be quietly pleased. I want to make him laugh, choose something that is a joke between us, and something that does not cost much both because I am poor and because otherwise it looks like I am trying to buy him. Whatever it was should come with home made instructions.

So, I already had a box of chewing-gum, which I had made into little men and repackaged so it looks like a normal box of the gum he chews. I think that will be amusing(but then I've an odd sense of humor {but so does Nico}). Then the brainwave - flashing teeth! Over the last few years during Christmas in Dublin, they have sold this sort of denture apparatus which you fit over your teeth and press a button to activate and all your teeth light up in ludicrous colours. I couldn't find any last year as they were all sold out, and then for my birthday my sister managed to locate some. I take them out with me sometimes when I go pinting cos I find it hilarious to wink at people when wearing these teeth as they stare back in horror. They are truly hilarious.

So my sister had sent me two pairs, and I wrapped up the "spare" teeth with the chewing-gum and made an instruction leaflet explaining how, when both are used together, you will find yourself enjoying the plastic sensation of solidly stuck psychadelic teeth until the battery wears out. The drawings involve the flip-top-head man of previous joke drawings we made, so I reckon he might like it.

Now the only question is how to draw this particular hermit out of it's shell long enough to present the joke...