Willie

Hello! So, I started to tell you about Willie. Let’s get right to it.
Willie is one of the oldest friends here, and he is so smart, and so gentle, and so mysterious. I love Willie. I have so much to learn from him.

He is a Catholic bear. He has this great little medallion of the Blessed Virgin. He wears it to remind himself that the Mother Mary, the mother of JESUS HIMSELF, was a gentle servant. That’s what he says anyway. I think he likes it because it looks so nice on his stripey scarf, so blue and tiny.

Willie's medal on his scarf.

I don’t so much go in for that kind of thing. I do have a huge T-shirt with my name on it. I love that!

My shirt has my name on it!

Sometimes the man wears my shirt. It is ok with me that he wears it, but he makes it seem like it is his shirt and sometimes he almost doesn’t give me credit for letting him wear my shirt. I try to keep an eye on him. But really, he is very nice and so I don’t mind.

I am watching over him and the cat.

 

Anyway, Willie tells me the story of how he got here.
One day, about 25 years ago, the lady was in a toy store, a STUFFED ANIMAL toy store. Stuffed folks from floor to ceiling. He says that she was walking around, just looking, and noticed a shelf full of Willie and others exactly like him. All the same! BUT Willie stared directly into her eyes, and implored “GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!” She was so startled, she just scooped him up and bought him and brought him home! That’s how it happened!

I told Willie that is about how I got here. Only for me, it was just about three or four years ago, and she was in Sav-On, and she saw a shelf in the toy aisle that was really empty. ALL empty, no stuffed folks left at all, except for me. I was all alone on that shelf. Man! I’ve forgotten all about this by now. It gives me the creeps to recall it. Anyway, she was walking by, and all I could do was look right into her eyes, and hope she would notice me. She did! She said “what are you doing here all by yourself?” So she bought me and brought me home, too.

So now Willie is here all the time. I think he is good for the other monkeys. He keeps them calm.

I’m going to take a nap now.

Goodbye.

I Must Have Been Asleep

Well, all I can say is, it’s about time I got back in here to blog. I was so eager to blog when it all started. I had no idea what a committment blogging would be. Not so much a committment of time, but of honesty and loyalty. I thought it was all just saying blog blog blog! That is so great! But there is more.

I now realize that blogging is a way of letting everyone know all the important things I want them to know, but it turns out it is also a way of revealing my shortcomings. I have been contemplating this a great deal lately, and have been having many meaningful discussions on this topic with my good friend Willie. Perhaps I will tell you more about it later, but for now, there are some things I want to tell you about!

It can rain and the back yard can fill up with water, but the house stays dry, and birds don’t even care if it is raining!

Homemade gingerbread is a very good thing on a rainy day.

No matter how many trips you go on, it is always good to come home.

That’s all for now. I’ll show some pictures next time.

We Interrupt This Vacation for a Brief Update

Hello dear friends. You can tell that I have not finished the story of the vacation. I’m not actually on vacation. I have been sitting and discussing many things with my good friend Willie.

That's Willie on the left. He is a bear. A Catholic bear.

He was on furlough, staying with a special friend in another city.  But last time I went to visit him, he decided to come home again.

I am  glad he did. We have been sitting together, telling each other everything that happened over the past year. That is how long he was away. We have had a lot to catch up on.

So, I will finish the story of the vacation really soon. Even though vacation ended, it has stayed with me. I think of the Coast Starlight every day when I hear the whistle blow at 1:00 and at 6:00.

I miss the train. I love the train. I want to see the Coast Starlight man again.

I want to be just like the Coast Starlight man.

Happy Summer time to all!

Much love,

Earl

Vacation day Five: We get a cheeseburger, and get back on the train.

If I have to leave Oregon today, I want my last meal to be memorable. Something unique. Something that says “Willamette Valley” like nothing else. Something like :

A wonderful combination of Garden Fresh Greens and Deep Fat Frying.

 

This is Burgerville. One of the finest burger places on earth. There was also an Asparagus Melt!

Asparagus can be a wonderful alternative to beef.

But who is kidding who? I had a big drippy cheeseburger. Plus, my friend had a mocha shake, which he shared with me. 

I could eat here every day.

Oh! You noticed his shirt! Yes, I am a connoiseur of fine burgers. His shirt is from Arizona, where we found the very best burger of all, at a place called Big Earl’s Greasy Eats. How could it not be good? I will tell you that story another time. Soon. I promise.

 

Well, lunch and Oregon came to an end. We headed to the train station with all our bags.

Goodbye Albany! Goodbye Oregon! Hello Train!

ALL ABOARD!!!!

Vacation day FIVE: We meet the neighbors.

With only one day left to meet everyone in Oregon, we quickly got on our bikes and began to ride all around the countryside.  Such a peaceful, beautiful place must have top-notch residents.  I just had to meet the neighbors.

Get this thing MOVING!!

 

I was not  disappointed. Within minutes we met a ferocious lion. But being from the jungle, he welcomed me, and I was not at all afraid of him.

My friend, the fierce lion.

 

Next, I spied a googly-eyed owl, guarding a strawberry patch. He said I couldn’t have any, even though I tried my best to persuade him.

You have an intruiging countenance.

 

I even said hello to a kitty cat on a porch. She told me she loves cat food.

It looks like Jail, but I can leave anytime I want.

So down to earth! So friendly and unpretentious.

And I never got lost on my bike. Well, not only because I wasn’t driving, but because I could watch for landmarks.

Our street was clearly marked with leftover wedding bells!

Oh I love an Oregon Wedding!

I think I never want to leave.

Maybe I can go out for a cheeseburger first!