Captain’s Choice Gift Set

[Captain Pre-Capsize]

That’s right - one of our popular Gift Sets for FREE!

For the holidays we have assembled an unbeatable gift set combination. Our top rate Captain’s Choice bay rum aftershave plus the (empty) classic bottle for you to decant Captain’s Choice into upon arrival. These come together in a nautical themed wooden box just as pictured.

This is my way to give back to the Badger and Blade community that has been so very helpful for me over the past year.

Here is how the contest will work.

Who can enter: No restrictions on post count or anything else HOWEVER, due to the contents CONUS only because of the alcohol not being able to be shipped via air.

Timeframe: The contest will run until 9:00 pm CDT on December 23 at which time a winner will be randomly drawn and announced.

How to enter: Share an example of how you served another person during the past year who was less fortunate than you. This can be a neighbor, a relative or a stranger. Tell why you did so and tell us their story. The Christmas season is not about receiving but giving and I thought it would be helpful during this time to hear examples of how we have given of ourselves.

[Chadtheguru]

My wife has an old friend from High School. She has two beautiful kids, twins, a boy and a girl. She has self-esteem problems and is in an abusive relationship, so of course, she is in constant financial trouble. My wife and I cleaned out our freezer and our pantry of things that we could spare and took them to her. We had two big boxes full of food and some other household things. She said it was right on time. She was out of food and their check wouldn't get there for a couple weeks. I'm so glad we were able to help!

I'm in, btw. You have an outstanding product. :)

[Hammertime1]

I saw a very elderly lady who locked her keys in her vehicle. It was extremely hot outside and it was appearant she was in distress over her situation and had been outside for to long. Turns out she could not afford a locksmith and was not having any luck getting help. It's was one of those days where I had both my little ones and was doing my best to keep them cool and hydrated. Jut happen to have a cooler in truck with gator aide. My 3yr old was first to say it is okay my daddy can help and he was a policeman before he got hurt s it is okay to trust him. Got everybody some liquid and did my quickest ever getting into a locked car routine. I was honestly worried with me having my kids. I was not going to leave them outside for too long nor was I going to leave them in the vehicle with A/c running. I had visions of my truck being driven off and me minus kids. Could not believe a single other person did not stopto help. For me the feeling of helping someone was long overdo. It had been a while. I went from routinely coming to people's aid to almost zero. Which means it is time to find other ways to help other more frequently. Let's hear some more stories of good deeds and some of that compassion for our fellow brothers and sisters still have left in them. Thank you for the wonderful chance at your quality products and a reminder/wakeup call about helping others.

[TonyH]

I had a co-worker that doesn't like me very much become very ill at work a few months ago. After about an hour, I found her on the floor in another part of the building and called an ambulance. They came and got her and she ended up spending the night in the hospital. She was back to work a couple of days later and things have been much better since.

I know I said in your other thread that I didn't like bay rum, and I generally don't, but I'd love to have one more gift for my Dad. He Loves bay rum (capital L), and this would really blow him away. He might even let me try some and end up changing my mind!

[Gunney]

I will admit up front mine was not a gift of anything material but rather of time: When I was in grade school, I had a teacher who worked at the local food pantry. So myself as well as a bunch of other kids used to go every Monday night, no matter the weather(except when they closed) and helped those particularly elderly carry their bundles. Even a couple of times I found myself breaking the rules(how far we could go with the person to help them) in order to help them get their bundles to either their car or their apartment(if it were one of the ones behind the church.)

Similarly I also helped a couple years ago with a school program in which I allowed one of a few special needs children "shadow" me for a couple days so that they could get acquainted with the school.

Admittedly these are nothing in comparison with those above me, however, I am at the slight disadvantage of years-of-competence-on-earth (thus excluding from ages 0-10 due to the fact that one is too immature to really do anything at that age.) But count me in...

[GladiusGSF]

I live in Florida and it tends to get a little warm here in the summer. By trade I am an AC tech/electrician. I have an elderly co-worker who's AC was struck by lightning during a storm. She lives in a mobile home retirement community in a small, 1 bedroom home that is 25 years old. Her insurance only gave her $250 because of the age of the unit. I went to her house to see what I could do for her. The condensing unit, the outside part, was gone with no hope of revival. I checked around and was able to get a new condensing unit at dealer cost and installed it for her. It was costly but worth it too me. We have to, as a society, take better care of our elders than is common place. A lady her age should not have to work for crying out loud! I would not hesitate for a second to donate my time and whatever I have to help these fine folks that have so much to offer in terms of wisdom and experience. They are the main reason this country we live in ever achived greatness!!!

Count me in sir!! Merry Christmas to you and yours!

[tnt5588]

Last year my family started a new tradition that I hope will last for many years to come. All the kids in the family are getting to old to do presents (I'm the youngest at 23) so we decided that instead of doing gifts for each other we would take that money and all go shopping for gifts for our local Salvation Army Angel Tree. Me, my girlfriend, my parents, and my sister and brother-in-law all hit the Wal-mart, and I honestly think that was some of the most fun I had had in quite awhile. I got to "relive" a little of my childhood by picking out some really cool toys (a big red firetruck and a dump truck) and I knew that on Christmas Day a couple of little boys would be happy and would hopefully get to have the kind of Christmas that I was so blessed to have for so many years.

Please count me in and I hope you have a very Merry Christmas.

[conroygc]

Not eligible to enter since I'm a miserly selfish twenty-something who trips old ladies and steals candy from babies....but I just wanted to say those gifts sets are awesome. Great work.

[joser]

A few months ago, I was at the store buying groceries to make dinner for the family and I. As I'm walking to my car i notice a truck backing into a parking spot next to me. As I walk around the truck to put my groceries in the car, I notice that there is a basket with a purse sitting in it. I looked around to see if anyone was looking for it or who might have been there a bit longer than I had been. There was one woman in the next row but she hadn't seen anyone around there. For a second I contemplated just leaving the purse in the basket and driving off, but then I thought what I would want someone to do if they found my wallet (or wife's purse). I waited by the basket for a while hoping someone would return for it. No one did, so I decided to take it inside a give it to customer service. The lady at the customer service desk had no idea what to do in that situation and went to get a manager. The manager came and I told him where outside I found it. As the saying goes, “Hindsight is 20/20” and thinking back I probably should have waited a little longer to see if someone would have come back.


I've seen (on this forum) that Captain's Bay Rum is one of the best available and would love to give it a try. I hope my story qualifies me for this PIF.

[TheVez2]

Oh man I wish I could get in on this. I've been wanting to try Captain's Bay Rum since he was testing out samples. Another time....

Awesome PIF Captain!!! Can't wait to read more stories of giving from everyone. It's very nice to read stuff like this, this time of year.

[sir-nix-alot]

I feel awkward boasting about my charitable activities. I am generous but would like to be much more charitable in the future.

I have a family that I love, and I would like EVERYONE to treat them how I do - so that is how I try to treat everyone. I am polite to everyone I encounter, smile and say hi to strangers when I pass them (this is so foreign to many - you get some interesting reactions). I treat older ladies how I want people to treat my Grandma / mother, I treat women how I would like my wife treated, and I treat other men how I would like my father to be treated and I feel it is a great example for my son. Life is so much better when you have your head up and are able to assist others. Trust me, I lived the other way as well - and comparatively speaking I was miserable.

[smokelaw1]

I actually promised myself that I wouldn't tell anyone about this. So nobody say anything. Can't let my wife know I'm really a nice guy.

I was at the supermarket. There was a frail, very old woman buying groceries. Perhaps two bags worth. I had noticed that they were ALL generic, and clearly purchased intentionally to save money. She used coupons. Her total was maybe 20-25 dollars, but honestly, I don't recal. She went to write a check, but was told her check priveleges were no longer valid (grocery store had recently changed hands). She had no cash. She had no credit cards. She started getting upset, saying she wouldn't be able to get to a bank, and she had no food in her house. I caught the cashier's eye, pointed to her food, my wallet, and my chest, miming my intention to pay for her food. I don't know what I expected, as I wanted to be anonymous. I didn't want the woman to know I was paying, but what could I expect the cashier to say "no problem, we'll take care of it?" The cashier told her I'd pay, and the woman refused. Much as I imainge my own grandmother would have done (if she were alive), she refused and said that she didn't want charity, she wasn't poor, and would get food tomorrow. I smiled my best sincere smile (it's not easy, I'm a lawyer) and said simply that it wasn't charity, it was simply a neighbor being neighborly, and she could do the same for someone else if given the chance. She hugged me and walked out with her groceries smiling.

ANyway, Captain...your products are amazing. I'm about out of my first bottle (and only have one measly bottle in reserve!!) I don't expect to win, of course, and if I don't, you'll have another order from me early in the new year anyway.

Best, and thank you for a contest truly in the spirit of the season.

[Archerfire]

Wow... now that's a cool gift set and a nice offering! I really like that old looking bottle. I'm more of an edt guy, but I do love a nice Bay Rum and I haven't tried yours yet. I just ordered a sample to give it a go. Kinda hard to beat for $3.

I also feel a bit awkward about talking of how I help those less fortunate. It's not something I do every now and then. It's something I do on a daily basis. I'm an early childhood special education teacher. I co-teach in the regular education classroom in a low income area. Since 85/90% of our children qualify for free/reduced school meals, every child at our school (PK and K) gets free school breakfast and lunch.

Kindergarten is not like it was when I was a child. Children with special needs are now included in the regular classroom. We now expect kids to count to 100, identify numbers to 20, be able to identify the letters of the alphabet (not simply say them in order), recognize and identify not only 2D plane shapes, but 3D solids also, etc., etc. We've just finished lessons on symmetry. Phonics and creative writing takes place daily. These little folks are even learning about the breve and macron! How many of you remember what symmetry is... or a breve and macron? I didn't until I started teaching Kindergarten!

I was initially hesitant to take a position at the PK/K level. I mean... most/all of the teachers are female at that level, except for the 'traditional' PE guy! It still astonishes me that so many children don't have a father involved in their lives. While I help these children build their educational foundation, I think one of the most important things is that I'm a positive male role-model/father figure to so many. Even so, I often think that I'm the one who is learning and benefitting the most from being around the wee ones.

Thanks for the super give-away, Cap'n!

[fast14riot]

Great gift set!

I let my Father-in-law move in with my wife and I in July of this year. He is on disability, has been since he was about 19 (motorcycle vs car), he gets around ok, but has constant minor health issues. I have a two year old son, who simply adores the man. He and I get along so-so and have been close to trading punches more than once over the years. He and his girlfriend that he was living with split up, leaving him with nothing but his clothes, his drum sets (yes that's plural, sets), and maybe a couple hundred dollars in the bank. I was unemployed at the time and my unemployment benefits were almost gone. I couldn't afford to feed another mouth, he can't afford to help with the bills. Of course he asks my wife if he can stay with us, intending for her to talk to me so he doesn't have to, but I was surprised when he called me the next day to ask me himself. I couldn't put this guy on the street, he is family after all. We talked, and set aside our differences. He has actually been a pleasant man to live with, and I hope it stays that way for however long it takes him to get back on his feet. Plus I catch him trying out some of my shaving soaps and creams, maybe he will convert to a DE. If he likes the Bay Rum, I'll order another set for him.


-Xander

[sifu]

This is a fantastic PIF!

[Mark1966]

This is an awesome PIF from an incredible guy.

Scott would qualify for his own PIF based on his generosity to the unemployed members on this PIF and then he turns around and does another off his own bat!

Great spirit of Christmas here!

[dgerson]

A great PIF and wonderful reads so far...

My wife and I have three children, with my son, our youngest, turning two this past summer. We are (supposedly) done with children, and the wonderful crib and toddler bed have been laying disassembled in the attic for a while now. We had talked about trying to sell them in a garage sale, classified, or on Craigslist, but just never got around to it. Then we heard of someone expecting a child who was having money problems, husband out of work, the same story so many people are going through. Giving them the crib, bed, and mattress felt great. They kept trying to pay us and we kept turning it down. The relief on their faces when the left was priceless.

A happy holidays to all!

Darrin

[daverasi]

What a great PIF! I would love to be considered!

I volunteer at a local legal clinic and oftentimes I don't feel that I am doing much good. In any event I recently had a client come in with a horrible situation. Client has an adult child with autism. The child was being taken advantage of by a criminal perpetrator in a number of ways and, in a limited amount of time we had to try to come up with cost effective solutions for this woman and her family. We were able to but I was unsure if I did any good...but the client was quite appreciative.

Working at the clinic is challenging as I often see how horribly people can treat each other but it often just takes a bit of guidance to get people on the right track.

[ndwolfe]

Great Gift Set, That would be awesome to recieve this Christmas.

I am always drawn to help the people who are homeless. The people who are on the side of the road holding the "WILL WORK FOR FOOD" sign. I just always have to give them some money. If my life turned into that, I sure would hope someone would help me. If I was wealthy I would more than likely give them jobs.

Merry Christmas everyone.

[kooshman7]

That's a great gift set Captain! I would like to be considered if possible. Always a joy to try new bay rums!

As for what I've done for someone specifically less fortunate it's hard to come up with specifics as I don't always run across those that are less fortunate, but are in need of a helping hand still with something that confuses them. I buy a little extra each month so that I can give to the local food bank for those who are in need, if I'm in a store or out somewhere I look and if I see someone I think I can help them I ask if I might be of help. It might be carrying groceries, reaching an out of reach item, lifting a heavy object, very often it's helping someone with something computer related as I understand computers, or whatever it may be. I'm particularly pulled to those that are homeless and those that are older. I'm neither but I feel like they've been forgotten, and I try to give what I can for them and wish to do more. I try to help out whomever I can wherever I can whenever I can.