Angelosity: Happy Teddy Bear Day!

If you've got time, here are my teddy bear ramblings:

The teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. It is an enduring, traditional form of stuffed animal often serving the purpose of comforting children.

And today is Teddy Bear day
according to my wacky holiday list!

Do you know where the term Teddy Bear comes from?
According to Wikipedia:
"The name Teddy Bear comes from one of President Theodore Roosevelt's hunting trips.... A suite of Roosevelt's attendants, led by cornered and tied to a tree an American Black Bear after a long exhausting chase. They called Roosevelt to the site and suggested he shoot it. He refused to shoot the bear himself, deeming this unsportsmanlike, but instructed that the bear be killed to put it out of its misery. This became the topic of a political cartoon... later issues of cartoons made the bear smaller and cuter.

A Brooklyn store owner saw the drawing ...and was inspired to create a new toy. He created a little stuffed bear cub and put it in his shop window with a sign that read "Teddy's bear." The toys were an immediate success....
By 1906 manufacturers had joined in and the craze for Teddy Bears was such that ladies carried them everywhere, children were photographed with them, and Roosevelt used one as a mascot in his bid for re-election."

Have you ever been to Build-a-Bear?
My younger son Brian's very first job was working at Build-a-Bear Workshop. We had to go and make a bear while he was working there. I love my teddy bear.

I also still have my oldest son's very first teddy bear. He's a little worse for wear and sadly no longer winds up to play "Brahm's Lullaby". But I plan on surprising him and giving it back to him one day when he's older.

Check out these Teddy Bears!

A teddy bear USB drive!

After my uncle Wick passed away, my aunt made all of their children and grandchildren teddy bears like these out of his many flannel shirts! What a great idea!