FINDING
ANGELO
By Bob Blackman
Copyright © 2007
Baby Blue Bear was nine years old.
That’s nearly one hundred in teddy bear years. He was worn and tattered,
had several patches, and was missing an eye. The damage was all suffered before
he was six years old, the results of fun filled time spent with a highly
imaginative little boy named Davy. Together, Baby Blue Bear and Davy had
heroically fought numerous wars, tamed wild animals, scaled high mountains,
sailed every known ocean, and truth be known, except for the missing eye, Davy
had suffered a lot more injuries than Baby Blue Bear.
Baby Blue Bear’s new best friend was Mimi, an unblemished black and white
panda who was barely three months old. Mimi had been given to Davy’s
older sister, Nicole, on her sixteenth birthday. To Mimi’s dismay,
Nicole thought she was too old for stuffed animals and after just two weeks,
Mimi found herself thrown into the hall closet where she met Baby Blue Bear who
had been stashed away there for the previous nine long months. The two became
instant friends.
One day, after Baby Blue Bear had finished telling her about the time he and
Davy had spent the night huddled in a living room tent after escaping from an
invasion of Martians, Mimi began to weep. “I wish I had gotten the
opportunity to be loved by someone like Davy. The only person who ever
loved me was Angelo, the nice old man who created me. For two months
before I was purchased, he would hold me almost every night and tell me what a
great life I would have with some little girl who would love me and never do
everything without me. He was such a sweet old man. I don’t think he would
have sold me to her parents if he’d known how old Nicole was.”
Baby Blue Bear put his arm around Mimi and let her fully share her sorrows
before he said, “I was made by Angelo too. I would love to see him
again.”
“Maybe we could go back to him. He could fix you up and help us both to
get new owners, ones who would play with us.”
“Run away?” Baby Blue Bear had never even thought of that option. He
truly liked the idea but nearly dismissed it as impossible. “I wish we
could.” he said, “but it was so long ago, I can barely remember his shop.
We’d never find it.”
“I remember where it is,” said Mimi, “…well kind of. It’s in Salem, on
Fiddler Street.”
“I remember Salem,” Baby Blue Bear said, “Davy took me there with his
mommy when they went shopping. We went in the car and it was only about
twenty minutes away.”
“Let’s do it,” said Mimi. She was so excited, she could barely keep from
screaming.
Baby Blue Bear thought seriously about it and hours later said, “Let’s do
it, we can leave tonight.”
That night, just after midnight, when everyone was asleep, Baby Blue Bear and
Mimi sneaked out of the closet and crawled through the doggy door. Baby
Blue Bear was just starting to stand up when the doggy door clacked shut and
Honey, Davy’s huge golden retriever opened her eyes, spring to her feet,
barked enthusiastically, and charged them from across the yard.
Mimi, who had never met Honey, (since she was rarely allowed in the house since
she had outgrown the doggy door) would have wet her pants had she been wearing
any. Instead, she ducked behind Baby Blue Bear, grabbed the scruffy hair
on his back, and screamed. Baby Blue Bear, shocked to see that Honey had
tripled in size since the last time he’d seen her, froze for an instant in
fright, but only for an instant. He knew exactly what to do. He’d seen Davy do
it a million times. He reached down and picked up the largest rock he
could find. To Mimi’s amazement, he drew back and threw the rock as hard as he
could, not at Honey, but off to their right. Honey spun immediately to
retrieve the rock, and grabbing Mimi’s arm, Baby Blue Bear rushed to an
opening in the fence on their left – an opening too small for Honey to follow
them through.
Thus Baby Blue Bear and Mimi began their journey to Salem. They walked and
walked for six long hours, not realizing how much slower it was to walk instead
of riding in a car. Finally, Mimi felt she could go no further and just
before sunrise, they decided to stop. The only safe place they could find was a
cardboard box, filled with paper, and sitting near the curb. They climbed
inside and fell fast asleep.
Two hours later they were frightfully awakened when a man in green coveralls
unceremonious poured them into a truck and drove them to the Dallas Recycling
Center. They managed to jump from the truck just before being deposited into a
huge dumpster filled with discarded newspapers. The driver emptied his
truck and drove away never seeing them huddled behind a pile of bricks on the
asphalt. For nearly two hours they sat behind the bricks, trying to figure out
what to do next. They were lost. They didn’t know where they were, how they
had gotten there, and particularly they didn’t know how they would get to
Salem.
As they discussed the possibilities and impossibilities Mimi whispered, “Be
still, Baby Blue Bear, I think I hear someone approaching.”
“Well what have we here,” asked a short, bald, man with a cheery smile who
limped toward them using and a carved walking stick. He picked up Mimi,
looked her in the eye and said, “Why you’re practically new. Why would
anyone throw you away.” He deposited Mimi in a brown paper bag he pulled
from his pocket, then scooped up Baby Blue Bear, looked him over and said,
“And you, I can see why you were thrown out, you’re a mess.” He stuck Baby
Blue Bear into the bag with Mimi, saying, “Oh well, I guess we’ll just have
to wait to discover your fate.” He hobbled across the asphalt, to a rundown
shack, set the bag on a chair and then hobbled back across the road to the dump.
Hours later he returned to the shack, picked up the bag containing Baby Blue
Bear and Mimi, and hobbled out to a rusty old pickup truck. He tossed the
bag on the seat, climbed into the truck, and drove away.
In less than fifteen minutes, the old man carried the bag to the alley door of a
two story building in the center of town. He knocked and when the door opened
they heard another old man say, “Amos, old friend, how good to see you. Come
in, I was just fixing coffee.” The two didn’t pay much attention while the
men talked until the second man asked the first, “What brings you out this
evening?”
The first man handed him the bag and said, “I found these two at the recycling
center today and thought you could fix them up and give them away to some needy
kids. The blue bear is probably a lost cause but the panda is almost like new.
The second old man pulled Mimi out of the bag and she immediately recognized him
as Angelo. He obviously recognized Mimi too because he looked over and said,
“Oh, you poor child, did that Nicole girl not like you? I’m so
sorry.” He patted her on the head and continued, “Don’t you worry though,
I’ll fix you up better then new and find you an owner who really appreciates
your charm. I promise you that my dear.” He sat her carefully on the
table and pulled Baby Blue Bear out of the bag.
He looked Baby Blue Bear over, turned him upside down and examined his foot and
ran his finger over the faded writing embossed on the pad. A tear pooled in his
eye as he pulled Baby Blue Bear’s nose even with his own. “Baby Blue
Bear! You’re Baby Blue Bear. Did Davy grow up and discard you?. He
looked over at Amos and said, “This is the very first bear I built after
moving here to Salem.” Looking back at Baby Blue Bear he continued, “If its
okay with you, I think I’d like to keep this one right here in my shop.”
Two
weeks later, Mimi went live with a little girl named Kathy who loves her dearly
and never goes anywhere without her. And Baby Blue Bear? Baby Blue Bear
sits on Angelo's counter and get introduced to everyone who comes into the
store.
~End
