Hey, Sauron, no need to thank me, your the one that authored that amazing post and, indeed, the entire thread in a sense. I and everyone else here should (and many have) be thanking you.
So, thank you, Sauron. If I hadn’t said it before, there it is. If I had, well, it is a well-deserved second round of thanks.
Hey, I want to add to this pile of thanks and adulation before it’s too late, Sauron. I have so enjoyed your stories.
Oh dude, I just did a spit take on my monitor. http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=6056069#
You owe me a new one.
My kids had Ted and cold blankie.
Ted ws a teddy bear (duh) and cold blainkie was a small blanket that a friend gave us when our son was born. One side was cotton, and the other was some other material that was always cool when you put it up to your face. This side also has a picture of a duck on it.
When my daughter was born, my son gave her Ted, and she of course used his blankie since at almost 6 he had outgrown these things, they were for babies.
Neither of my kids drug cold blankie around much, but they did sleep with it every night. Anyway, cold blankie is a little shopworn, but still looks ok, when I checked on him a few minutes ago. Cold blankie is resting in a box, waiting for the day when he will be called to soothe a new baby.
Ted is mostly retired, and sits on a shelf in my daughters room. He leads the life of a retired gentlebear. Everyonce and a while, my daughter will bring him down for some quality time.
OK, first you make me cry, then Aries28 gets me laughing with her typo, then you make the perfect dry comeback. The people in the hotel rooms on either side of me must think they’re staying next to a lunatic since they’ve just been subjected to an extended solo laughing session followed up by uncontrolled bursts every time I re-read the above.
Well done, sir.
I have a stuffed animal, Stephanie, that I slept with every night for many many years… I didn’t stop sleeping with her until after I had been married for a year…
::Stands_in_awe_applauding_wildly_with_teeming_millions::
“AUTHOR!! AUTHOR!!”
::Showers_stage_with_rose_pedals::
Hey, Sauron. Check this out!
I had several beloved stuffed animals when I was little. My favorite was Wally, the Walrus, given to us by a close family friend(and named after him). I loved that walrus. He went away into my closet for awhile, then when that same family friend died (AIDS, so not totally unexpected, but still), I took him out and cried with him. He was put away for awhile longer, but now that there’s all sorts of arguing and crap going on all the time with the other three members of my household, I got to him when I need a friend. And now I’m crying, just thinking of him and what a good friend he’s been all these years. Stuffed animals/blankies make the very best friends- they’re there for you to cry with, and to listen to your problems, and never once say something mean. I love my Wally- his tusks are no longer their original shade of bright white, his pink fur is worn- but he’s still wonderful.
I had a couple of blankets I was really attached to. One was quilted with little red-orange roses and eyelet lace; another was (I think) a yellow plaid flannel (I think). Both the blankets and the memories have since disintegrated. My niece was very attached to one of her mom’s old flannel nightgowns. It went everywhere with her for a very long time. I don’t think it ever went to preschool or kindergarten with her, but that was only because her parents didn’t allow it. My mom was her hero several times because she mended it. She’s 10 now, but I’ll be the nightgown is still around somewhere…
Oh, and wonderful story, Sauron. They really do grow up fast, don’t they?
GT
I’m just wondering, given this thread, why you stopped:) My first Punha was stolen from me when I was 17, incidentally. The second is at my parents’ house, and I would have brought him (Paddington Bear is definitely male) with me had I known certain other things at the time. He was on my bed when I left him, and that was last June.
To avoid any confusion, I think this is the comic that’s supposed to be in your link. Although I have to admit, today’s comic (4/18) gave me quite the chuckle when I saw it. I was trying to twist the message around to fit the thread. Sadly, I think I was able to do so before I realized that was probably not the comic you wanted me to see. I am not a well man.
Bike Rider, gardentraveler, LucyInDisguise, zagloba and others … thanks for the kind words. Based in part on the feedback you and others (most notably Aries28) have provided, I have sent a query to Reader’s Digest to see if they’d be interested in publishing this. This is one of the longest of long shots … RD doesn’t take much from unpublished authors. We’ll see if they’re interested. Keep your fingers crossed.