Bear in mind

Picture a breezy, Sunday afternoon and you are dressed in your favorite white pinafore dress, a blushing ingénue to the core. You answered your door and there stood a gawky, fidgeting but cute and zealous suitor. You asked him to sit down. He scratched his head, looked around and heaved a big sigh before at last, a sound came out of his quivering lips, "So…, eh, ah, uhm, what are your hobbies?"

Sparks flew and violins played as your mind chimed with amazing images: rock climbing, water rafting, synchronized swimming, hang gliding, deep sea fishing and whale watching. Oh, add swan-watching in the frozen, icy lakes of Nagoya, Japan.

Huh! That should impress him.

If only they were real. The most daring feat you’ve ever done was swim across the club pool in four feet of chlorinated water.

Plummeting down to earth, you cleared your throat and replied, "I read romance novels, I cook, crochet and collect, ah… stuffed toys." Boog, boog, went the sound of your head being knocked against a wall. You could not have been more ordinary, predictable and pathetic than that.

This was a typical day in the life of a young, foolish and swayable mind. Translation: me.

But, it worked. The next day, a gaily wrapped package was delivered to my house. Inside was a stuffed toy, a teddy bear. It had black, button eyes, a firm rubber nose and a gentle stitched mouth that broke into an innocent smile. Immediately it captured my heart.

I called him "Pipaluc" and he became the most important piece of bedroom accessory that I snuggled and slept with. But, what of the giver? With proven, exhibited patience, he won my heart, too. By then, "Pipaluc" had become his most important ally in my boudoir. And we’re not talking of seduction yet.

Many of us have loved a teddy bear. Maybe we had more than one very special "teddy" in our lives especially after Elvis Presley’s song exulting teddies and the natural attraction we have for them. ("Baby, let me be your loving teddy bear, put a chain around my neck and lead me anywhere…") The sentimental value we attach to them can far out price their basic worth although I came across an ad where in England, an extremely rare Steiff Bagi teddy bear can fetch as high as £20,000 in a Christie’s or Sotheby’s auction.

Here is the story of how the teddy bear sprang into the hearts of American collectors.

Over 100 years ago, President Theodore Roosevelt went on a bear hunt. He enjoyed nature and being out in the woods where animals lived. Because he was POTUS (President of the United States), the people organizing the hunt wanted to make sure the hunt was successful. But after three days of walking and climbing and riding, no bears were found. Now what? The President’s bear hunt would be a failure.

The next day, the hunt guide and his hunting dogs finally found an old bear. The guides tied the bear to a tree and called for the President. Here was a bear for him to shoot.

President Roosevelt looked at the poor old bear and said "No!" No one would shoot this old bear for sport. That would not be right. A political cartoonist by the name of Clifford Berryman heard this story and drew a cartoon showing how President Roosevelt refused to shoot the bear while hunting in Mississippi.

But where do toy "teddy bears" come from? After this famous cartoon appeared in the papers, a shopkeeper, Morris Michtom, took two stuffed toy bears that his wife had made and put them in his shop window. He had an idea. Mr. Michtom asked permission from President Theodore Roosevelt to call these toy bears "Teddy’s bears."

Mr. Michtom eventually opened the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company.

A classmate who collected porcelain dolls always eyed my teddy with suspicion. She was annoyed at how I could freely reveal my secrets to an inanimate model of stuffed cotton and fabric when it would have been just as easy (and private) to share it with her.

She made sense but I didn’t want to take the chance of her slipping or worse, using my secrets as a leverage to get her way with me. She did that once and it wasn’t even over any earth-shattering matter. Who cares if people found out I talked in my sleep? I never divulged vital information during my somnolent state.

Every night, Pipaluc and I kept a routine. After homework and prayers, I’d whisper sweet nothings to Pipaluc and turn off the lights. In return, he asked for a tight bear hug to befit, what else, a bear. It’s a small demand in exchange for his undivided attention. My teddy was a faithful and steadfast champion against aches, pain and loneliness.

In time, Pipaluc became old and tattered, I suspect, from absorbing an overload of tantrums, anxiety and even genuine tears pouring down his furry head.

Fast forward to 2005. Now I’m a full-time grandma, or Nonna, and my love affair with teddies continued. Gone were the secrets whispered to his ears because by now, they would be hard-of-hearing.

My grandson has two favorite stuff toys: a white polar bear named "Kiko" and a platypus named "Platypus."

Kiko was "born" in a bear-making shop. He was custom-assembled from the specific qualities requested by my grandson. The novelty was to make him believe that he played an active role in breathing life into Kiko including giving him a bright, red heart. He delighted in this "father" role as he kept vigil over Kiko’s arrival. He was even asked to sign a baptismal paper.

Together with Kiko’s homecoming, I was appointed to the rare, highly-coveted and prestigious position of "bear-sitter." Simply put, while my grandson eats, takes a bath, reads a book and plays out in the park, I am to watch and keep "Kiko" company.

It was in one of those "take the bear for a walk" days that I found a shop along Duke Street in Alexandria, Virginia that specialized in teddy bears. The shop owner even gave free newsletters of the "Good Bears of the World" or GBW (www.goodbearsoftheworld.org).

GBW is a non-profit organization of teddy bear lovers in America founded by the late James T. Ownby in 1969. The members go around the world giving teddy bears to those in traumatic situations. They have put comfort into the arms of hospitalized or traumatized children and forgotten, abandoned adults. They had literally spread love, caring, sharing and most of all, hope, to those who needed them.

After the 9/11 tragedy, there was a clamor for teddy bears to be distributed to firemen, doctors and compassion-driven volunteers and, of course, to the victims and those who mourned. GBW responded and gave away baskets of teddy bears donated by members. The healing power of the teddy bears eased the loneliness and inspired love and compassion. The teddy bear has rightfully become the ageless symbol of uncompromising love.

It was a universal sentiment.

Give a good bear hug today. Nowadays, we can’t have enough of it.