For the month of January, WordPress does a blogging challenge called “Bloganuary”. That word congeals in my mouth like old gross milk. Some words just don’t flow and shouldn’t be combined, BUT I’ll play along since I’m so terribly rusty on my writing.
As a kid, I loved stuffed animals. Memorable ones included Jake the snake (a 12 foot long green snake that I curled up in a circle and sat in), a Pink Panther rocker chair thing, a Ganz Wrinkles bloodhound puppet (see pic…I am positive I had this exact one), a Teddy Ruxpin, and many more. But my all time favorite was my giraffe that I had since I was a baby.
Not exactly cute, not exactly ugly…I had one of these Wrinkles dogs by Ganz.
He was made of a nubbly yellow material and had tiny brown felt nostrils and a brown cotton mane and twisted cotton tail. His eyes were black plastic. His ossicones (horn-like protrusions) were made of brown felt. I will never forget the fateful day I took him to preschool for show and tell and the teacher took him and was demonstrating how giraffes drink water. When she did so, she shoved his neck down which causes his poor little stuffed giraffe legs to splay out at 90 degree angles. I was absolutely horrified and I swear that the legs never were the same since; the front two had creases that always made him sit wonky. I don’t think I ever took anything to show and tell again.
As far as what happened to my giraffe, when I was in my 20s, my childhood home caught on fire and partially burned. The giraffe was in a glass case where we kept some memorabilia and he was perfectly fine. I took him out and to the kitchen where I sat him on a counter. Due to my ADD and all of the hubbub going on in the house, I forgot to put him in my car. I never saw him again, so I am sure he got thrown away. I know a little stuffed giraffe meant nothing to anyone else, but he did mean something to me. Then again, life goes on, and what would I really do with him now other than keep him in a box so my kids can throw him away when I die?
Even so, I still miss him for reasons unknown.
My Little Country 