Sheba

     One of my mother's favorite stories from when I was very little was the one about my second birthday. Different relatives had stopped by to give me presents for my birthday.

My Uncle Bernie and my Aunt Norma

My Dad's sister, Norma, was my godmother, and Dad's brother, Bernie, was my godfather.
I remember them always acknowledging my birthday over the years. Uncle Bernie even called me once on August 31^st to wish me 'happy birthday'; I said 'thank you' and then reminded him that my birthday is actually September 30^th – he laughed and said he was close – it was the last day of some month! 

     Anyway, on my second birthday, my Dad's brother, Basil, stopped by with a package for me. I opened the box and inside was a toy - a stuffed dog!  It was supposed to be Tramp from the Lady and the Tramp Disney movie which had just come out. But I had not seen the movie or related the stuffed dog to any commercials I might have seen for the movie. It was a dog from my Uncle Basil, and Uncle Basil had a cocker spaniel who was beautiful, and her name was Sheba – so I called my new stuffed dog Sheba. And Sheba stayed on my bed from then until I moved away from home twenty years later.

     Of course, Mom's version of this story was just a little different. She said that after I pulled the dog out of the box, I set the dog aside and spent the afternoon playing with the box – just like all those cat videos you see on facebook these days. Well, Mom got a lot of laughs out of that story over the years.

     But truth be told, that box is long gone, and Sheba is still here - in my closet to these days. Her squeaker no longer works, and her coat is very shabby. However, she still has that same smiley expression on her face. It would not hurt her feelings if I got rid of her, but the sight of her reminds me of home and Uncle Basil and that I once was little enough to play inside a birthday box.

Sheba's expression has never changed

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