My one true love

My pal, Liberal Redneck, is one to often post a YouTube video from 'the day'. You know which day I mean, that great old era of series premiere Sesame Street, The Electric Company, Big Blue Marble, and The Muppet Show. Kermit doing his news reports, Oscar being such a pain in everybody's butt, and Mr. Snuffleupaguss (I know I wasn't the only kid screaming at the tv for the adults to "Turn around! He's right there!!!!"). My dear Redneck picks the best ones, and much like an old scent getting those crazy neurons firing, zinging you back to some long-forgotten moment of bliss, I was recently whisked back to the memory of my one true love...

I'll never forget when we met. No, it wasn't an episode, it was in a Kay Bee Toys. As a kid, the one divorce perk I remember was the schwag: at the end of a weekend with Dad, my sister and I'd usually score something. In kindergarten, I snagged a stuffed white poodle and took it several times to show-and-tell ... that is until my classmates started heckling me for bringing the same thing every Friday (bitches).

A few years later, I remember choosing a couple of Nancy Drews that I never read. But Grover was the big one ... the one I just loved so much I wanted to cut him up and eat him. Not in a Hannibal Lecter kinda way. More like Buddy popping cotton balls.

I used to love it when he'd do his "Near" step, step, step, step "FAR" bit. And his little, "It is I, your little friend, Grover." Mmmmm. I'm getting misty just thinking about him. There was just something about him that made me all soft and giggly, made me squint my eyes and squish up my nose and curl my toes and hold my breath and jump around. I loved the deep indigo of his coat, the mess of his fur, the great fuchsia of his bulbish nose and small line of a mouth, the lankiness of his slight arms and legs always ready to wrap around me. And this was just his stuffed, reproduced self!

I spent several months last year searching on ebay for a replacement to my long-lost Grover, but I just couldn't find him. Don't s'ppose I ever will ...