Mission Impossible: The Holy Grail of Gift Giving

Yesterday's post got me thinking about Christmas gifts. Since I told you yesterday that My Guy gifted me with my "Holy Grail" of gifts, I started thinking about his. And I knew exactly where to go, in my mind. The trouble with Grail-type gifts is that they are never easy to find and this one is no exception. So today, I ask for your help, your expertise, your know-how, because NOW I am a possessed woman on a mission. God help anyone or anything that stands in my way.

The story begins like this: My Guy is a HUGE baseball fan. Born and raised here in Boston, those of us in his life, probably all run a close second to his beloved Red Sox. That being said, his beloved Sox most definitely run a close second to his ultimate hero, The Babe. Last year we transformed an unutilized guest room in the house into his home office. It came out amazing. We all love it and use it, but ultimately it is his room. We decorated the walls with only the most prestigious pieces of baseball memorabilia from his expansive collection and kept a quality, not quantity theme when choosing the works to display. Last year for Christmas I commissioned an artist friend to paint an oil portrait of The Babe as Christmas gift. The finished product was fantastic! I had asked her to paint Babe Ruth in a Red Sox uniform and she took it a step further and captured him on canvas in a Boston Braves uniform (which was at the end of his illustrious career). She even captured the sadness in his face. My Guy loved it! The Holy Grail, right? Wrong.

Just a few short weeks before Christmas, (the timing could not have been more fateful) with my fabulous gift safely stowed away in the basement until Dec 25th, he and I were at home watching a movie we rented, "I Now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry". The movie stars Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Jessica Biel. There's a scene in the film when Adam Sandler goes into Jessica Biel's apartment and as the camera pans the entrance of the apartment, on the wall just by the door hung a poster size, framed photograph of Babe Ruth. But this wasn't just any photograph of The Babe, this was the one, the Grail. I knew it the second I saw it, and I gasped out loud, my body overcome by that strange sinking feeling. My Guy knew it too because he gasped also and declared with amazement that he had never before seen that photo. We had to pause the movie and dissect and discuss this photo. I also knew immediately that my gift had just been exposed for what it really was. A poser, a cheap imitation of this, the only Ruth photo that mattered. I sucked. I gave it to him anyway and he loved it, but I know what we were both thinking in our subconscious when I gave it to him.

Enter yesterday, I spent a good part of 3 hours searching the Internet for that photo and what I found was that I am not alone. There are lots of other Ruth fans out there searching for the same photo with little success, as I told you-this is the one. After pouring over hundreds of sites with photos of Babe, I finally located a thumbnail of the original photo. I printed it out in document size but it is pixelated and probably useless. I even went to Barnes and Noble and poured over books about Ruth searching for it to no avail. I then found this web site justanswer.com and I actually PAID $15.00 for their assistance on my quest. They inform you via text and e-mail when they have answered your question. They say that the average wait time for your answer is between 20 minutes and one hour and I got my response some six and a half hours later with nothing more than the information I had already found myself. The "entertainment expert" assisting me told me that she believes the photo to be a one time thing, created for the movie and directed me to other sites with other photos of Ruth for sale. Basically I got hosed, but I can't waiver, it's got to be that photo.

So I ask you all for your help. What can I do? When I am done here, I am taking my crappy pixelated image over to a photo shop to see what can be done with it. The image in the movie was done in sepia tones, so there may be hope for me yet. I already e-mailed the website with the thumbnail photo about obtaining a print of the shot, but have yet to hear back from them. What makes me even more crazy is the fact that I found the photo and have the image (albiet a thumbnail), I just want and need a better resolution. You got any better suggestions?

You asked for it so here it is: