What Did You Take To Bed?
Hi,
.
When I was a child I used to take two special things to bed with me every night.
.
One of them was a bear called Bear.
.
I understand that you may be somewhat disappointed by such a lack of creative thinking in the bear-naming arena, but I was actually quite an imaginative sort of child in truth.
I must have been going through a minimalist, prosaic sort of moment when I obtained him, but I have improved my name giving prowess greatly since then,
.
A few years ago, I bought a very strange, big plant at our local garden centre,
.
It was geen and opulent, and it had one huge, exotic flower growing up from it.
It just looked so unusual that I could not resist it, even though there were sharp, serrated edges on the long, thin leaves
The flower was beautiful and the plant so magnificent that I was compelled to give it the name of ‘Ozymandias -King- Of -Plants’.
Both suitable and fitting.
.
Eventually I gave it away to a friend, because the dog we had at that time would not leave it alone.
She kept asking me if I was sure I wanted her to take Ozymandias, because he was so lovely, but I said that it would definitely be for the best.
So off he went to a new home.
.
Not too long afterwards, that dog died of fluid on the lungs, which I felt was caused by him going into the River on a freezing day, when we were on a walk, quite a distance from the house.
I dried him with the hairdryer as soon as we got back, and put one of Big H’s jumpers on him to warm him up, but he was very old and a bit stiff.
He died not long after.
.
Big H was in the Middle East on contract at that time.
I had stayed at home because I did not feel that it would be fair to the dog to do anything else, and I did not really want to go anyway.
Once the dog died, there did not seem to be any other acceptable excuse to stay in England, so I was, still unwillingly, forced to go and join Big H for a year.
.
Upon our return to the UK, I answered a knocking at the door and in rushed my friend, carrying something loosely covered with fancy paper.
She thrust it into my hands and cried excitedly, “It’s for you. It’s called Son-Of-Ozymandias-King-Of-Plants!, and so it was.
It turned out that Ozzy had had a baby, and this was it.
Amazing.
.
I seem to have digressed a bit again, haven’t I!
What the hell was I talking about.
.
Oh yes…the two bed companions of my childhood.
.
Bear was about seven inches tall, with both of his paws clasped in front of him, and with a very worried sort of look upon his face.
He was a money box and he was made of brass.
He was formed of two halves, a back and a front, which were joined tightly by a big brass screw that went through a hole in his back and he had a slot in the back of his head for the money to go in.
.
My other companion was a cat called Whiskey, and he had a thin, wiry tail, needle sharp claws. and torn, ragged ears.
He was an unneutered Tomcat and he was very real indeed.
Apart from the times that he would go courting, and then subsequently be missing in action for days on end, he would sleep with me in my bed at nights.
I cannot remember him being with me in the mornings, so maybe he left me later on, and went out again. I really don’t know.
What I do remember, is that he would tread around in circles and then settle down in a ball between my thighs to go to sleep, purring like an engine, and as hot as a waterbottle.
.
What did you have as your special comfort as a child?
Do you still have it?
.
I had my Bear until recently and then I gave it to a little girl who liked him a lot.
I hope that he is happy in his new home.
I do not expect to get a ‘Son Of Bear’ this time though.
.
I find that I miss him.
.
Love
J
,
.
At first he would be very cold but soon he would warm up and be more comfortable to cuddle to
