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Danny |
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These are the times that try men’s souls, and
in these dark and troubled times every attempt to root out evil is part
of the ever vigilant duty of John Q Citizen.
Or not. For example: According to the Associated Press,
a Stamford, Connecticut man has been “charged with reckless burning
after police say he set fire to a teddy bear he claims was
‘possessed’ ”. The AP quotes police as saying the 32-year-old
man “burned a teddy bear in his back yard Sunday as part of a voodoo
ritual because he believed it was possessed and he was trying to rid it
of evil spirits.” Okay, sing: “Winnie-the-Pooh, Winnie-the-Pooh,
tubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff, He’s Winnie-the…”
Never mind. This is
far more serious than Heffalumps and Woozles.
“Excuse me, Mildred, but Daddy must take your
cuddly little bear friend out to the backyard for a minute. I need to have a talk with him.
You know, gris gris gumbo ya ya.” “But Daddy, why do you have the charcoal
starter and the matches? Are
we going to have a cookout?” “Yes. Mr
Bear and I are going to cook up a little something special for you.
A treat. Not just
the, ah, the… bear
neccessities, if you know what I mean.
It’s a little something called a black cat stew.” “I love barbeques, Daddy, but why do you keep
saying ‘juju mojo, mojo juju’?” “I think Mr Bear knows full well.” The AP continues: “Firefighters had responded
to a report of a brush fire at the home Sunday night and found the teddy
bear burning in the back yard”. Remember- -Only YOU can prevent forest, well,
any fires, especially if it may concern me.
- - Yours truly, Smokey. (Remember
when Smokey had a middle name? “The”.) The man was charged with reckless burning. “He said he was burning this bear because it
was possessed,” said police Sgt Kevin Goettel, head of the East Side
district in Stamford. “He
was performing a voodoo ritual to rid it of this evil spirit.” We all know that teddy bears got their name by
being named for President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. It all happened because of his daughter’s wedding.
Bear with me. The caterer was looking for a unique centerpiece
to put at each table and saw some stuffed bears in a store window while
shopping in New York. Since
President Roosevelt had a reputation as an outdoorsman and a sportsman,
the bears were dressed as fisherman and hunters and whatnot and placed
on each table at the reception. They
were a big hit. At the
conclusion of the meal someone asked TR what species of bear they were,
and he is said to have replied: “You’ve really got me there so I
think they must be a new species called Teddy Bears.”
Of course the newspapers were in attendance at a President’s
daughter’s wedding and they picked up the story and it ran everywhere. The bears actually came from Germany made by a
wheelchair-bound toymaker named Margarete Steiff, who had contracted
polio at a young age but nonetheless went on to make tiny toy animals,
and eventually open a toy factory.
Her original specialty was toy elephants (not to be confused with
Heffalumps). By 1887 her
toy animals were shipped all around the world.
In 1902, her nephew, Richard, who joined the company after
graduating from Stuttgart Art School, wanted to give his aunt a special
birthday present and created a toy bear with moveable arms and head.
It was much larger than Margarete’s usual animals and was made
from mohair (the hair of the “mo”) rather than felt.
She sent it to the United States as a prototype, but it was
rejected. The following year a sales rep from a New York import house,
Hermann Borgford of George Borgford & Company, found himself
unsatisfied by the offerings at the Leipzig Fair.
He asked what else might be available, and the lone bear was
pulled out of storage and presented to him.
He loved it and ordered 3,000.
And those are what the caterer saw while shopping in New York for
the wedding decorations. Steiff bears are still manufactured and are
popular as collectors’ items. They
are easily identified by the trademark button in their ear. There is an original from the Roosevelt family in the
Smithsonian. Although 1907 was the “Year of The Teddy
Bear” its popularity continued to the point that by 1930 “The Teddy
Bear’s Picnic”, originally an instrumental called “The Teddy Bear
Two Step”, became a chart topper.
You know: “If you go down to the woods today you’re sure of a
big surprise. If you go
down to the woods today you’d better go in disguise.
For every bear that ever there was, will gather there for certain
because, today’s the day the Teddy Bears have their picnic”. This is getting to be more than I can bear.
What about the guy with his “Voodoo Bear”? Whatever possessed him
to burn the tubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff?
He needs to get his bearings.
“Put a chain around his neck and lead him anywhere, just let
him be…” No, wait- -better than that- -I think he
should be fired. Matches?
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