In the comments on the 100 things meme, David Loftus wrote, “Was particularly charmed by ‘saved a favorite child toy’ would love to know what that was for other folks.”
You know what? I would too.
So let me introduce you to Lassie. That’s the extremely tattered stuffed animal in the corner there. She’s a lamb, and yes, everywhere that I went, the lamb was sure to go. One of my parents’ friends made her out of a hand towel as a gift at a baby shower before I was born. The crazy quilt that she is now, is not her original fabric. Out of all the toys, presented to me, this was the one I latched on to. I carried her by a death grip around the throat everywhere.
Oddly, one of my clear early memories is naming her. Herschel [1. 1st cousin-in-law twice-removed] asked me what her name was. We were standing on the sidewalk outside some store and it was sunny, so I think it must have been while we were down at Easter. Until he asked, it hadn’t occurred to me that she didn’t have a name, or even for that matter that she should. But as soon as the question was posed, I realized that she should, of course, have one so I gave the only name that I knew for a pet. “Lassie.” I think I’d recently seen it on television, because I did know that I was naming her after a collie.
She sits on my desk now, in a little cubbie-hole. This bit here is the only original fabric left. Grandma taught me to embroider by stitching a new eye for her when the fabric on the side of Lassie’s head wore out. She’s stuffed with panty-hose.
When I was in kindergarten, we accidentally left her on top of the car when leaving school. I was deeply traumatized and Mom drove all over the place looking for her. She even took out an ad in the paper. Miraculously, someone found Lassie and answered the ad. I still have the ad, although it’s in a storage locker. I wouldn’t leave Lassie there though. Not after all this time.
So, how about you? Did you save a favorite childhood toy?
For almost 35 years I had a sock monkey that someone had given me when I went in to get my tonsils out (on Halloween- the horror of not being able to eat candy!) when I was 6 years old. He got lost in a move 2 years ago, but I still missing having him around. For some long-forgotten reason he was named Jocko, and he saw me through the years of being a flat-chested geek in school, a divorce, many breakups, and 3 autistic kids. I still miss him.
My brother still has a 4 inch square of his baby blanket which he carried for many more years than he should have (needless to say he didn’t find Linus jokes amusing).
Tonsils out on Halloween! The horror, indeed.
Funny how these stuffed animals are so comforting, isn’t it?
Did I save one . . . or many?
There’s my blanket – the binding finally fell off entirely. There’s Missy, a lanky bear given as a birthday gift when I was in kindergarten. There’s Lucy, who I hugged in my old church while one of the worst storms I’ve ever seen raged. There’s my spice puppy, given to me in third grade, who no longer smells like spices. There’s my Clifford, who I hugged and cried on when I was the only kid without a REAL animal at the preschool pet parade. (One of the other moms told my mom her dogs just had a puppy and offered her one. Peaches died this May.) There’s Betsey Sam (short for Beatrix Samantha), for whom there are no imitators. My first Corolle doll and my best. (Not that Billie Jean, who followed her, isn’t quite the lady.) Kel, who’s spirit changed homes often – she went from a Kelly, to a Skipper, to Teen Skipper. But she was always a little punk. There’s Todd, the “wrong one.” His arm fell off and my sister and I reattached it with a series of rubber bands so that it could still move. Haley Anna, Anna Haley, and Kara Kara – my guitars. Beautiful ladies all. That little piece of glue with a bit of string attached. I’m not sure what it’s from but I’ve always loved it. Shamu, my whale. Patches IV, my guinea pig. Patches I-III and V-VII did not die in my care. They were my picks of Paddy and Pebble’s litters, but we always had to sell them. My parents insisted two guinea pigs were enough. He wasn’t a replacement for a real guinea pig, but he stayed with me loyally.
There’s many more. Did I mention I still buy myself stuffed animals? I’m still such a kid.
When I went to college, I decided that I didn’t want to risk Lassie in the dorm so I picked up Murphy, the floppiest cuddliest teddy bear you’ve ever seen. So, believe me, I totally understand still buying yourself stuffed animals.