An advertiser/ manufacturer of bus parts sent me an Olde-Fashioned "Country Santa with Waterball" recently. Oh, it is glorious. It's a resin six-inch-tall statue of Ole Saint Nick, and he's leaning on a water ball. A water ball is apparently a lot like a snow globe, only there is a resin squirrel inside holding an acorn and smiling out at Santa's jacket.
This beautiful treasure was all the sweeter because when I opened the box, it was already broken. Somehow, Santa's wintery, holly-festooned walking staff had snapped off, leaving the tip and a resin cardinal (bird) in the bottom of the box.
Like anyone who is appreciative of a free gift, and anyone who appreciates the random humor of broken Santa resin figurines, I placed the Country Santa AND his Waterball on my desk in a very visible, high-traffic spot (next to inbox), with the broken staff/cardinal piece lying alongside it.
When my coworkers come into my office, they almost always pick up the broken piece and try to 'attach' it to the Country Santa. It demonstrates that well-known psych 101 principle of mental completion. We always mentally complete a picture of a circle with one piece of the circle missing, or a broken line becomes a complete line in our minds. This Country Santa with Waterball is always mentally completed by the employees of Power Trade Media.
Let's see them complete it when I smash it out in the hallway. It will be funny to see them scramble. And, of course, it will be most fun to smash something. It's been awhile since I purposely smashed anything. I think I could use a good smashin'.