Bears, Teddy and Otherwise

Daily Prompt: What was your favorite plaything as a child? Do you see any connection between your life now, and your favorite childhood toy?

As a child, I had a number of beautiful, handcrafted wooden toys that I loved to play with. I fondly remember a rotary-style red telephone with a little bell that would ding when I hung up the earpiece. I had a caterpillar that was made of balls of wood and rope and metal that would wobble as I pulled it along behind me. There was a wooden dog on orange plastic wheels that did the same. And countless rattles – a wooden handle with coloured wooden balls swinging by short ropes from its top, a red wooden cube with a little silver bell rolling around inside it. The list goes on.

Most of these I still have with me. My son played with them and, now that he is older, they are housed in a box in the basement. Memories, possibly toys for future generations.

But I recall my most treasured toys were my collection of stuffed teddy bears. I was an only child and they were my companions. I used to proudly count them. I think I remember their numbers swelling to about 20 at one point.

My mother still has many of them, and I have two.

One is Growly Bear, a very realistic black bear, whose stuffing seems to have been squeezed a bit thin.

The other is Little Teddy, a small, beige Merrythought bear with a bell in one ear. My Great Aunt gave him to me when I was born and he was my constant companion through much of my early years. My son has now claimed him as his favourite “stuffy.” I’m touched that of all the stuffies he has, Little Teddy is his favourite.

He has no hair left. I don’t actually remember what he looked like with hair. I think by the time I was 3, he was completely bald.

His ears are lopsided – I recall my mother sewing one back on while we were on holiday somewhere down south. I may have been 5.

His stuffing is almost non-existent. His nose is wearing thin and I’ve darned it. It’s amazing he still has his eyes.

The question of the day is, do I see a connection between my life now and my favourite childhood toy?

Not in a concrete sense, no, although perhaps yes as far as remaining consistent and constant in my interests.

But I was just thinking this morning about the repeated appearance of bears of late in the art that grabs my attention, in my dreams and in my writing.

I’m not sure why this is.

Wikipedia posits that, “With their tremendous physical presence and charisma, [bears] play a prominent role in the arts, mythology and other cultural aspects of various human societies.”

This is perhaps why bears are everywhere – as popular children’s toys, in famous stories such as Winnie the Pooh and Goldilocks, the source of names of towns and sports teams across the world, and in connection to what is perhaps the most prominent constellation in the sky.

It is also perhaps why bears have been revered, worshipped and feared throughout human history. According to Wikipedia, bear worship is a religious practice found in many North American and North Eurasian ethnic circumpolar regions and may have been practiced as far back as the Middle paleolithic period amongst Neanderthal societies. Bears bones have been found in caves and are featured as carved totems throughout many northern cultures. Often, they were believed to be earthly manifestations of a tribe or clan’s ancestors.

There are also a number of Celtic deities associated with the bear and the bear was the symbol of King Arthur.

It makes sense that the cultures that came in contact with the majestic and terrifying animals as part of their daily life in the wilderness would see them in a mystical and respectful light, just as they deified other terrifying yet beautiful aspects of nature around them.

But what is it about the bear that draws me, albeit somewhat unconsciously?

I believe it is in part its sheer strength and its protective nature. But it is more than this. There is something special in the intriguing duality of the figure of a bear. It is able to be, on the one hand, that strong and terrifying creature that has awed man for millennia and, on the other, so loving and furry and cute that its image has been made into a universally cherished child’s toy.

Fellow bloggers’ thoughts on childhood mementoes:

14 thoughts on “Bears, Teddy and Otherwise”

glorialynnae says:

September 13, 2013 at 01:17

Although my post is somewhat humorous. I too have that one Teddy that is with me always. Thanks for sharing your story.

- Silverleaf says:
  
  September 13, 2013 at 01:49
  
  I just headed over to your post and it did make me laugh. You know, I used to rip the heads off my Barbies too, and use them as catapult fodder against Castle Greyskull. And I enjoyed playing with guns. You’re right, the toys don’t necessarily say something about us.
  
crookedeyebrows says:

September 13, 2013 at 02:52

To tell u the truth I never had a Teddy when I was young but purchased one when my son was young and perhaps I played more then my young son who is now in his late teens ……….. Thank You for bringing back memories

- Silverleaf says:
  
  September 13, 2013 at 03:08
  
  That’s great! It’s ok to play with teddy bears, or any toys, as an adult. Why not enjoy the childlike wonder of life? I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Thank you for dropping by.
  
By A Show Of Hands, Who Played With Barbies… That Still Had Their Heads? | Molly Greye says:

September 13, 2013 at 04:18

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September 13, 2013 at 06:12

[…] Bears, Teddy and Otherwise | The Silver Leaf Journal […]

Carneika W says:

September 13, 2013 at 08:19

Great post.. I didn’t realise bears were worshipped so much. You’ve maybe gone some way to explain my love of teddies 🙂 I could never get rid of mine.

- Silverleaf says:
  
  September 13, 2013 at 10:16
  
  So glad you liked it. Thank you!
  
Daily Prompt: Toy Story | I Hope You're Taking Notes says:

September 13, 2013 at 08:36

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Pat(ricia) says:

September 13, 2013 at 13:56

Wonderful shared memories and interesting info. as well. Your post made me smile at the thought of some of my treasured bears, as well as the mention of the pull-along caterpillar toy. I had one of those too! Lol ….

- Silverleaf says:
  
  September 13, 2013 at 13:57
  
  I’m glad it brought back nice memories! Amazing that you, too, had a caterpillar.
  Thanks for stopping by.
  
Capt Jill says:

September 17, 2013 at 01:02

Hi Silverleaf,
I enjoyed your bear story, I never really thought about that connection between the teddy bear and all the others. Thats a good point you made.
Thanks for reading my story on my sea snark and the ‘pingback’ (what the heck is that anyway and how do you do it???)

- Silverleaf says:
  
  September 17, 2013 at 01:16
  
  Glad you enjoyed it and happy to be able to give you new ideas about teddy bears!
  A pingback is a link to another blogger’s post, usually one that relates to your post. It’s a neat way to make connections between different people’s posts, and between different people more generally. It’s easiest to do it from the daily prompt – you just copy and past from their list of linked posts below the prompt. Once you master that, you can also just insert a link by clicking on the “add media” button in the “new post” screen.
  Hope that helps!