I fancy myself a creative gift giver. But today I'm finding myself stumped.

See, my husband's birthday is in two days, (he'll be 39 — again, and again, and again) and I have no idea what to get him.

Sad, it seems, after only 10 years of marriage, that I've come to a gift-giving standstill on his birthday.

The problem is my fella doesn't want for much. He has everything he needs, he says, including a collection of tools more impressive than Home Depot itself.

His wish list contains just one item — a Corvette.

It's not a wish borne of mid-life crisis. He hasn't yet lost his hair, and seems content to put skydiving and other daredevil adrenaline rushes on hold. No, my man's desire to own a Chevrolet Corvette comes from a lifelong love affair with the fastest, classiest, American-made sports car ever built.

He once owned his dream car, until that dream went up in smoke — literally. He was in the garage putting some finishing touches on his near-mint 1965 Corvette Stingray. The red beast had a mean motor and a gleaming red paint job. Without a doubt, it was his pride and joy.

On a cold March day long before we were married, as he fixed a problem with the car's gas tank, a small amount of fuel leaked out onto the floor and was ignited by a nearby heater.

The resulting explosion rocked the garage 6 inches off its foundation and sent my husband to the burn unit at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for more than a month. With third-degree burns over 35 percent of his body and facing multiple skin graft surgeries on his hands, feet and face, he opted to sell the charred remains of his beloved ride to someone who intended to restore it. Rebuilding it himself would have taken too long and been too painful, much like his recovery.

That was 1987. More than 20 years later, his dream remains to once again own a Corvette. But because the cost of one rivals that of our home, he has yet to get behind the wheel of one. Someday, he says.

In the meantime, my guy has started what he calls the Corvette fund, a modest savings plan that takes a backseat to the kids' savings, the family savings and the retirement fund. It will be more than a few more birthdays, he thinks, before he's ready to make the Big Purchase.

But when he does, it will be a grand crossing off of that single item on his wish list. And I'll still be stumped about what to get him for his birthday.