For some reason, our son Miles got a skateboard when he was just about 3 years old. He thought it was cool, but I had to hold his arms as we wheeled around a skate park in our former home in Lawrence, Kan.

I rather hate to admit it, but I somehow thought — fueled by too much Tony Hawk Pro Skateboarder on XBOX — that my life-long pipedream to be a skater could be realized through my son. As usual, I was deluded, as I promptly hurt myself trying to ride his little board on a tiny half-pipe. I'm convinced that the teen skate punks in the vicinity still laugh about some old kook splayed out on their turf.

Miles would have me draw skateboards on large pieces of paper so he could pretend to do tricks in the house. One of my drawings featured a big, green robot that I named Roscoe. Roscoe, according to Miles, would deliver pizza to hungry skaters. Roscoe the Pizza Dude became a staple in our house. But Miles kept wanting Roscoe stuff — specifically a clock.

Now, I don't know how to make a clock, but I do know how to use the Internet. And imagine my surprise when I found a place that would make a clock with my design. The place is called Café Press ( http://cafepress.com/), an online store specializing in custom-made gifts of all stripes — including clocks, T-shirts, mugs, hats, magnets and greeting cards, to name a few.

I downloaded a template, drew Roscoe in Adobe Illustrator, uploaded the image and paid $11. In a few days, Miles had a clock. With a couple more clicks, my wife had a baseball jersey shirt with the same image.

What I discovered was that Café Press also allows you to set up and sell custom products from your own store — for free (you can pay for more features or products). So, of course, I immediately dreamed of a cool, children's clothing line designed to combat the total lameness of most kids' T-shirts. Tweaking a couple of public domain skateboard pictures, I crafted and bought Miles two T-shirts, complete with the logo of my newfound company — Leisureman Enterprises — on the back. I set up my store, and I waited for the offers to pour in.

They didn't.

Although I didn't make any money, I did find the time to design more shirts, one featuring my son Quinn's favorite plush toy, and one for me with an image of Tom Waits. I then moved to mugs, using a picture of Walt Whitman to display my love for coffee and Whitman's inimitable stylings.

Café Press's sheer amount of products — messenger bags, keepsake boxes, hoodies, buttons, steins, pillows, journals, postcards — continues to impress me. As I look toward the holidays, I can't help but think that someone on my list would appreciate a Walt Whitman mug or a Roscoe the Pizza Dude T-shirt.

Of course, I could be wrong.

Perhaps I'd be better off making a shirt with a picture of an old man crashing on a skateboard.

Mark Luce lives in Kansas City, Mo., where he still can't do any skateboard tricks. You can email him at msluce@everestkc.net