“That's the real trouble with the world, too many people grow up.” – Walt Disney
By far, this quote has always been my favorite Walt quote. I couldn't agree with him more. As a matter of fact, I'm sure the people that know me best might refer to that very quote as my life's credo, and I probably wouldn't disagree with them. Why grow up? Why lose that innocence, that sense of wonder, that unadulterated ability to have fun?
I just spent the last few hours out in the yard dismantling our backyard play set and I have to admit it started to get to me. As I unhooked the swings, detached the slide, and began to take the whole thing apart, I got really sad. It has to go. I can accept that. It's old, probably no longer that safe, and we need to do something else with such a prime spot in the yard, but the major reality is… the kids are too big to play with it. They've grown up and don't use it anymore. How depressing is that? Not that they're completely grown up—My daughter is 16 and our twin boys are 12, so they still have plenty of their youth left to go—but taking down the swing set did make me nostalgic for the old days when they were just little tots.
With a Disney Stuff article on the horizon, I started to brainstorm out there in the yard. The sun was going down. It was a beautiful evening and besides feeling sentimental, I was also pondering about what to write. I've always wanted this column to be about the personal significance that the Disney stuff we all accumulate has for us. Sure, it's about collectibles and their value, but mostly it's about what this stuff means to us. As I was sadly wiping this part of my kid's childhood away, it dawned on me that there are two Disney items in our home that have been pretty significant in our lives for the past 12 years and have never gotten their due here in an article. Like the play set in the yard, these two items pretty much defined childhood for my sons and, happily, they can thank their big sister for bringing these items into their lives.
I can remember clear as a bell, a dozen years ago, taking my then 3-year-old daughter to our local mall. We were going to buy something for her to give to her new brothers. We, of course, made our way into the Disney Store and after ogling plenty of Princess-ey stuff that she was interested in we turned our attention to the gift for her brothers. The Disney Store at the time had a whole line of baby items on the shelves and we found just the thing.
She picked them each a Disney stuffed animal that was made especially for infants. There were no loose parts, no buttons or eyes to be bitten off and swallowed. I had her choose from the selection; I wanted it to be up to her. It was her gift after all. As I said, it's been about 12 years but as best as I can recall, the choices were Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Donald, Goofy, Mickey, and Minnie. She chose Goofy for Alex and Pooh for Casey. To this day I have no idea why and I'm sure she doesn't either, but she was adamant on her choices and who was I to disagree? In hindsight, the personalities would eventually fit, so it seems like she was wise beyond her years at that age.
We went home that day and allowed her to place the animals in their new respective owner's crib. We figured they might live there for a while, but would more than likely make it over to a shelf or into the toy box. Eventually as the boys got a little older, it became obvious that these two animals were going to be “THE” animals of their childhood. If you're a parent, you probably know exactly what I mean. Actually, you really don't have to be a parent to understand this one.
Pooh and Goofy became the all-important toys in my sons' lives. They became the ones that got slept with, the ones that got cried on, the ones that got carried and dragged everywhere. You know the ones, don't you? For some kids it's a doll or a stuffed animal or a blanket. For one reason or another a kid latches onto an item and never ever lets it go. You've probably got one in your closet or back at your parent's house somewhere, or perhaps yours completely fell apart and you don't have it anymore. But when you had it—way back when—it was your life, your security blanket. I had a little dog puppet. My wife had a bunny. My daughter had her baby doll. And my boys had Pooh Bear and Goofy.
Just take a look at these things. It's painfully obvious they have been through the wringer. I wish I had before and after photos. I promise you they were both colorful at one time. There's a good reason for this condition: washing them became a practical impossibility. As gross as it sounds, they haven't been washed in years… lots and lots of years. They probably would have disintegrated in a washing machine, and I'm not too sure they would have held up through a hand washing either.
My son's Pooh Bear wears a shirt to hold him together. Photo by Chris Barry.
The reason that Pooh Bear is wearing an oversized grey t-shirt is because eventually, he began to fall apart. We went to Build-a-Bear and bought a tiny shirt to try and protect him. Our best friend is a seamstress and she did all she could for Pooh, but he was beyond help. He is what he is.
My son's Goofy has been well-loved. Photo by Chris Barry.
A toy doesn't get to be in this condition unless it's loved though. Pooh and Goofy were the main guys. It's like Buzz and Woody were to Andy in Toy Story. They went everywhere. They've been on planes, on boats, and in cars. They've been to Walt Disney World, of course, as well as just about every trip we ever went on, large or small. They've been left behind and had a frantic parent backtracking though malls, hotels, and playgrounds just to retrieve them. They've been through it all and then some.
Of all of the Disney things in this house that I have collected over the years, I can't imagine that any of them have been as important to any of us as these two little guys were to our boys. In general, twins are very lucky. They have a built in full-time friend in each other. They never did anything alone. Their mirror image was always right there next to them, but they also had Pooh and Goofy to play with, eat with, cry with, get dirty with, and just be with. The toys never really fell too far out of reach either. They were like having yet another brother to be with at all times, and will always be remembered as those toys that they couldn't live without.
As I finished putting the old play set to the curb, I came inside, made sure to hug my kids and tell them I loved them, and went looking for Pooh and Goofy. They were in a safe place, as I said, never too far out of reach. I realized that the play set was gone; the kids would never be out back swinging and sliding, or hanging out in the “fort” up top or having a tea party on the little table on the bottom. But as long as the kids hold onto the Poohs and Goofys in their lives, either physically or mentally, then they'll never completely grow up. I think that's what old uncle Walt was talking about when he famously uttered those lines above.
Don't be afraid to hold onto something that makes you feel young. Every once in a while, dig out your Pooh or Goofy, or bunny or puppet or whatever you call your own and remember just how amazing it was to be a kid. If you don't have your special thing anymore, don't fret. Being young is a state of mind and it's a good state of mind to be in.
Walt was right. Too many people do grow up. That is the problem with this world. Not this writer. Not anytime soon and I hope I can say the same for my kids. As they inevitably grow older and the swing sets and slides go away, I hope they hold onto something that keeps them young. Unlike the play set, Pooh and Goofy certainly have proven themselves to be pretty indestructible.
Let's just hope my kids' sense of wonder and their sense of being a kid is pretty indestructible as well.
For those interested in specifics, these stuffed toys were known as Cuddle Tots and were sold exclusively at Disney Store. Now they are only available online from collectors on sites like eBay and Amazon. As usual, I'd like to hear what you have to say about Pooh and Goofy, or whatever your own remnants of childhood may be. Click on the link below; let me hear your thoughts and I'll see you next time with more Disney Stuff.
