How the Bears
   Came to Be...
             (Fudgie's Story)

I like watching TV with Daddy

A very long time ago (in 1996 as peoples figure these things) I was in a store called Bear Essentials in Victoria, BC.  I know this because Mommy told me about it later.  She says I sat on a shelf there and was on sale (!) and she was looking for a present for Daddy.  It's very sad, but Daddy had never had a bear when he was small.  Oh, he had a doggie but I think that's not the same at all.  Bears are the best, and I'm not saying that just because I am one.  Anyway, Mommy came to the store and saw me and thought I was the cutest bear she had ever seen.  She gave me a hug to see if I was huggable, squeezable and cuddly enough for her sweetie.  Apparently I was and she bought me and took me home in a very large plastic bag, open of course so I could breathe.  I wasn't alive yet, but I vaguely remember the hug and the bag, because I was so big that she bumped my bottom a few times along the way.  When we got home she found a good box for me and put me in it to wait for Daddy's birthday.  It seemed like a loooong wait.

In October 1994 Daddy had his birthday and opened up my box.  That became my birthday too, because teddy bears don't come to life until someone loves them.  Daddy was surprised that Mommy gave me to him, but thought I was a wonderfully fuzzy and cuddly bear.  The first thing Mommy and Daddy did was take the Ty tag out of my ear (Ow!) and then I felt much better.  The tag said my name was "Pudgy" but we thought that was a little mean.  So Mommy and Daddy thought and thought and tried to figure out what my name would be.  Finally Mommy said, "What about Fudgie?".  Well we all agreed that was a fine name.  I thought it would be good to be named after something chocolate -- there was chocolate for Daddy's birthday and I had some and really liked it.  At first I was a quiet bear, I wanted to get to know Mommy and Daddy before I let my true personality out.  They didn't realize that I was really alive yet.  I cuddled with Daddy on the couch when he watched TV and slept on the bed during the day when everyone was out.  Daddy wasn't used to sleeping with a bear yet, so often I would end up on the floor!  I wasn't impressed with that!

One day Mommy was reading the paper in the morning before she went to work and she told me about  an article about teddy bears at the Fire Department in it.   Then she left for work.  I wanted to read it for myself and so I went and got the paper and brought it back to the bed and started to read.  Just then Daddy came back from the gym and caught me!  He was so surprised to see me reading that he phoned Mommy at work.  He didn't want to disturb my reading, but it was too late -- now they really knew I was alive.  Actually this worked in my favour because now I could let out my true personality and complain when Daddy dropped me on the floor in the night -- I usually give him a friendly swat for that.  I am such a (as Mommy puts it) squishy bear that it never hurts him, but lets him know that he'd better not do that again.

Since that time I have been inundated with siblings.  I liked being an only bear!  I got all the chocolate that came into the house, there was always someone to sleep with (once I trained Daddy not to drop me on the floor) and I got to watch what I wanted to watch on TV too.  Okay, so what if it was Melrose Place!  I even got all the chocolate in the advent calendar.  Now we have more bears than chocolate in the calendar!  Mommy and Daddy bought two calendars the last few years, and this year I only got two pieces!  I don't know why they had to go out and find other bears.  I mean really, who needs more than me?  But I have to admit, some of it isn't bad.

First I got my little brother Brownie -- and being the big brother I had a lot of fun with him.  Stuff that Mommy and Daddy don't even know about!  We used to wrestle all the time and I always won.  Really!  I did!  And I got to sit on his head and fart!  Ha, ha, ha, ha.  That was fun.  But I know Mommy wanted to have someone to cuddle too -- she would ask for me when Daddy had dropped me on the floor, and he'd pick me up and cuddle me!  Poor Mommy.  So I understood about Brownie.  And we had a great time on the Big Bed Tour to Houston.  We got to see all sorts of great stuff out the windows, ocean, treetops, power pole tops (we're not tall enough to see much stuff out of the windows) and once we got to Texas, lots of sky.  And there were lots of big beds along the way.

Once we got to Houston, the trouble began.  Sure we had a bigger home than in Vancouver, but there's only room for so many bears.  Mommy and Daddy found lots of bears on Ebay.  The first little bear who came to the apartment was Cookie.  Now, okay I admit it, she's really cute and fun.  Plus, you don't want to get on her bad side -- she really will slay you.  But I just love her, and I guess I love all the others too.  But c'mon guys, lets stop the madness now!  26 is more than enough and even though I wouldn't send anyone back, I still hate having to share so much!  Dammit!  I liked having the bed all to myself -- now I have to wait for my turn on it.  Sure we have a second bed now that we're in the house that we bears get to sleep on when we're not on the bed with Mommy and Daddy, but even that's really crowded!

But since I am the oldest, I get away with quite a bit.  Whenever I complain, everyone says: "Oh, that's just Fudgie.".  So I sleep until noon on the weekends then demand my latte upon waking even if they've already had them.  Too bad, I get one too.  So Daddy usually makes a second one for me.  The privileges of age.  They call me 'Stinky Bear' sometimes, but I just swat them.  A good swat'll solve just about anything that makes me cranky.  Even if I don't change things I still get to swat!  So I watch Cheaters and tell everyone to shut-up if they talk when my show is on.  You should see what I do to Mommy when she's reading late!  I stagger around like the light is making me blind!  She just loves that!  Then for good measure I'll try to shove her off the bed...  hee, hee, hee.  I'd have to say, all in all, life is pretty good around here.  Even if I have to share.

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This is me with my little sister, Cookie.
 

This page and all photos © Copyright 1998 - 2002 Lynda M.R.