My Roommates

Like my older friend Linda Young, I have always been hopelessly addicted to stuffed animals. They were far better friends than most children were when I was younger. I was quiet and shy and preferred reading books or watching TV to running around outside with other kids my age. When I got older and Mom started ordering me outside more, I would go for long, rambling walks on my own instead of hanging out with buddies like my sisters did. My walks usually took me to Cape May's Washington Street Mall. I'd look wistfully at the expensive stuffed toys in the small toy shop in the indoor mall, then head a block down from the mall to the small yellow Cape May City Library, where I'd settle in for the afternoon reading The Babysitters' Club or fairy tales or Nancy Drew.

Oh, I had dolls, too, Lady LovelyLocks and Jem and Barbies and She-Ra, though I never got into baby dolls the way my sisters did. What could you do with a baby? They weren't fuzzy or fun to hold, most of them didn't have hair to brush, and you couldn't create fantastic stories with them. Besides, I'd seen my sisters when they were real babies, and they weren't a whole lot of fun to take care of.

Unlike my sisters, who gladly gave up most of their stuffed toys when they got into their teens, I never let mine go. Oh, I'd give some of them to thrift shops or younger friends over the years, but I can't remember a time when I didn't have stuffed animals. I was particularly fond of teddy bears, both realistic and "cute." They always seemed so happy and cheerful.

I still collect them now. They're my children and my roommates...and probably the only ones I'll have, at the rate I'm going. They all have stories to tell, as much as any human being...

Paddington Bear: Big Paddington is one of the oldest stuffed animals I have, and the largest. I don't remember much about how I got him, but Mom says some great-aunts or grandparents or something bought him from a gift shop in Cape May when the two-foot tall toy was bigger than I was. Nowadays, Paddington's a bit worn and ragged. His blue felt coat is missing buttons, and his yellow hat has holes in it big enough to drive through. He's a lot skinnier than he used to be, too, having been slept on for twenty five years. Even so, he's still one of my babies, and one of the bears I've "dressed" and put under the Christmas tree for as long as we've done it.

Happy: Happy the Floppy Polar Bear brought sunshine into one of the darkest days of my life in early December 2003. Max, my boyfriend of three years, had just e-mailed me that morning to tell me he was breaking up with me. I came out of the shower that evening feeling lower than the floor of the Atlantic when my sister Anny, brother Keefe, and her then-current boyfriend John trooped into the living room. It was a few weeks before Christmas, and a friend of theirs had given John some stuffed animals for his little daughter. I oohed and ahhed over the cute floppy hippo John was going to give to Katie before Anny pulled out her real surprise - a polar bear with a big smile done in the same style, with floppy arms and legs. Anny said his name was Happy, and he was for me. They wanted to make me feel better, and they couldn't have picked a better way.

Little Mike and Peter Pup: Mike, a floppy wolf cub Lauren sent me from Massachusetts, and Peter, a golden retriever puppy who came from the thrift shop, were named after Monkee members Mike Nesmith and Peter Tork respectively. One of the running gags in our Monkee role-plays is that tough loner Mike and sweet-natured Peter have been transformed several times into a wolf and a golden retriever by various villains.

Lady: One of my favorite toys when I was little was a stuffed version of Lady, of Lady and the Tramp fame, whom my stepmother and biological father bought from a store on Main Street in Walt Disney World in 1986. I must have talked about her to Max a lot, because his Valentine's Day present for me in 2001 was a new Lady. She is one of two items Max gave me I couldn't bear to part with after we broke up. I'd missed my old Lady too much.

Meowth: And here's the other stuffed animal Max gave me I just couldn't get rid of. On one of our numerous trips to the Hamilton Mall near Atlantic City, I'd admired a huge, two-feet tall stuffed Meowith at what was then called EB Games. Meowth was one of my favorite characters from the Pokemon cartoon, whose Brooklyn accent and used-car-salesman mannerisms never failed to make me laugh. As much as I'd liked him, it still came as a shock on a trip to visit Max's parents a few months later when Max brought out a Christmas present...the very Meowith I'd looked at so often at the mall! It was one of the sweetest things he ever did for me (even on sale, Meowth was one costly kitty!).

Lucy: Lucy, a Beanie-Baby-style pug pup, used to belong to Keefe. When he was little, we'd often pretend that, despite their different breeds, Lucy was Lady's rambunctious "daughter." When I moved into my own apartment after college, he gave me Lucy, insisting that a puppy and her mommy shouldn't be apart.

Chow Yun Fat: Chow Yun's story is one of my favorites. Erica and I were taking out the trash at the thrift shop one night last fall when we heard a noise. It sounded like something talking. Erica heard it first, then suggested we check the bags on top of the trash. In one of the bags, I found a stuffed mechanical panda bear waving his arms and legs, his mouth moving as various bear-like growls and squeaks poured out. I instantly asked Erica if I could keep him. The people who live above the shop must have gotten rid of him, though I don't know why they would. Other than being dirty, there was absolutely nothing wrong with him. His arm, mouth, and head moved fine, and his growls, snorts, and squeals were as clear as day. I ended up taking him (and a plant someone donated for some reason) home for free.

Erica may have been right about him calling for help. A huge thunderstorm passed through that night...one that would have permanently damaged poor Chow Yun's electronic insides if he'd been left out in it!

Birch, Donnie, Daffy Duck, George, Pablo, Erica, and Kurt: These guys all came from the thrift shop. Birch and George are bears. George has odd ears on the side of his head and a goofy smile; I tied a bit of red fabric from the thrift shop around his neck to give his purplish fur some more color. Birch is a small tan and off white bear cub whose color gives him his name. Donnie is an American eagle with big, round eyes and a tuft of fuzzy "feathers" on the top of his head; he's named for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. Erica is a vintage 80s Pound Kitty I found last Christmas and named after my friend Erica who runs the shop. Kurt is a white seal cub I named after male Canadian figure skater Kurt Browning. Pablo is a small but colorful parrot. Daffy was so dirty when I pulled him out of a bag filled with small junky knick-knacks, Erica gave him to me for free. (He's since received a bath in Uncle Ken's washing machine.)

Dawson: Dawson was a birthday present from my mother when I was in high school. He's is a heavy, fuzzy fellow with movable limbs, a huge purple velvet bow around his neck, and a very serious expression. He's one of my older bears and looks it; I've been meaning to fix that one strand of yarn from his paw that came loose for years.

Nala and Copper: I picked up these two in yard sales last year. Copper is a Beanie-ized version of the puppy character from The Fox And The Hound. I believe the Nala is one of the toys released during and after the release of the original The Lion King in 1994. I remember seeing them in stores them. Nala has a grosgrain ribbon "collar" with a pink and green felt flower, and when you squeeze her rear, she makes purring noises.

Lamby and Hugh: Lamby is a newcomer. I won her from a whack-a-mole game at Six Flags Great Escape in July. She's a cute white lamb with a sweet expression and the appropriate curly "wool." Hugh was my present from Lauren last year. Lauren apparently got two identical stuffed kola bears from an eBay auction of Build-A-Bear toys and gave one to me. I named him after Australian actor Hugh Jackman (I already have a Beanie Baby kola named after Mel Gibson).

Mint: One Easter, Mom gave each of her children a pastel stuffed animal she'd found in a display at K-Mart. Rose's was pink; she eventually named her Petunia. Anny's was yellow. Keefe's was blue. He called him George, and he became one of his cherished companions, one of the few stuffed toys the now-fourteen-year-old still has today. Mine was mint green and was dubbed Mint Julep, or just Mint. Mint was one of the few stuffed animals to not only survive high school, but be small enough to come to college with me as well.

(Incidentally, we weren't the only ones who loved those bears. Mom thought they were so cute, she eventually bought herself a lavender rabbit from the same display she named Violet. She also bought a big white stuffed rabbit with a jelly bean print ribbon she named Jelly Bean Bunny, or JB Bunny for short.)

Tails: Tails is a large Tails the Fox, Sonic The Hedgehog's sidekick. My sixteen-year-old sister Jessa said she won him from the Wildwood Boardwalk several years ago. I adopted him when Jessa cleaned out her room last year and got rid of a lot of things, including old toys. (I also acquired a bookcase-style shelf for some of my smaller collectible Beanie Babies and Pokemon from Jessa's room.)

James and Pooh Bear: I had a Pooh when I was little, but he was pretty much loved to death. He vanished long before my teens, so I was happy to find another small Pooh at a yard sale in May. I just bought James, a beautiful bear with big, almost human-like eyes, a big grin, and a red-and-tan checked ribbon, from the thrift shop about two weeks ago.

The Care Bears: My first Care Bear after the line's revival was Cheer Bear, one of several stuffed animals I won from the crane games at Gateway 26 on the Wildwood Boardwalk. My big Tenderheart bear also came from a crane, this one under the Great White wooden roller coaster in the Wild Wheels amusement park on the Boardwalk. I won him while waiting for the Fourth of July fireworks to begin in 2004. Winning him really made my Independence Day; not only were the Care Bears in that machine unusually large for boardwalk crane toys, but he seemed to be the only Tenderheart in the machine, and Tenderheart was my favorite when I was little.

I didn't find the others until I moved. Big and Little Wish Bear and Proud Heart Cat came from the thrift shop. Big Wish Bear just need a washing machine bath to be presentable. Little Wish bear was designed differently from my other small Care Bears, with no moving arms or legs. Grumpy Bear, Share Bear, and Funshine Bear came from yard sales.

Samantha: "Sam" is Samantha Parkington, the Victorian American Girl. I've loved the American Girl series since they were first released, and Samantha was my favorite of the originals. I was thirteen when Mom and Dad finally broke down and bought me Samantha and a couple of outfits for Christmas. I know thirteen is a little old for dolls, but the American Girl dolls are special, beautifully made and designed...and very expensive. Mom probably figured it would be better if I did have her when I was older so I could take care of her better....and I have ever since.

Carrie: Carrie is my first and only Cabbage Patch Kid. Mom had to call her sister in Virginia to find Rose and I Cabbies, since they were so scarce during the Christmas of 1983. Now, how could I give Carrie up after my mother went through all that? Besides, Carrie is the only baby doll I ever really liked having, maybe because she wasn't so "babyish" it bothered me.