Ghost of Christmas Past

Above: The reassuring face of nostalgia

Saturday night, I got together with my immediate family to celebrate Christmas. My little niece, two years old, got an oddly-shaped package from my dad. She picked it up, and, suddenly, it started making an odd sound, almost like a muffled voice. My brothers immediately started laughing, because they knew exactly what it was. I didn't quite get what was going on, so I watched as my niece tore apart the wrapping paper and pulled out the toy.

It was an AG BEAR!!!


I had an AG Bear just like this when I was a kid. It's a little stuffed bear with a voice box that mimics and distorts voices around it, so you can have a conversation with it.

My niece wasn't interested at all - just before this, she had opened up a rocking horse that made real horse noises, so she just threw the bear to the ground. I picked the bear up and... wow. I remember being a child, hugging the bear for comfort if I was upset. I think I sat there, with the bear on my lap, for about a half-hour.

I don't think I've ever had that kind of visceral reaction to a TOY before. I don't really like emotions all that much - they're gross and sticky. Still, there I was, a twenty-seven year old man, fiercely independent with his own apartment, hugging a stuffed bear. And enjoying it.

So now I'm thinking I either REALLY wish I hadn't thrown this bear out so I had something to hug, or I REALLY need a girlfriend.