" Three Wiseman, Three Tenors, and Three Goofballs!"

Merry Christmas, from 'da Bayou!

This Mr. Bingle is about 25 or more years old. I thought my brother bought it for us, but my wife tells me we bought it at the Maison Blanche in Lakeside Shopping Center one time when we came home for Christmas. Mr. Bingle, was a promotional puppet for a local and large department store. In the late fifties and early sixties,"Bingle" had his own half an hour program for the kids between Thanksgiving and Christmas. He became a cult hero for my generation...

Who knows why?

This our second Christmas without our son, who passed away a year and a half ago. Last year, we didn't have the heart to decorate or even purchase a tree for the celebration. Instead, we left for two weeks to visit old friends in Southern California, where we lived for almost thirty years.

This year, we decided to stay at home and celebrate our son in a different way. And, one of those ways was to pull out all of his favorite stuffed dolls that only come out during the holidays and place them on top of the mantlepiece, the piano bench and end tables. As it is with any keepsake, every stuffed doll or animal presents a rush of great, yet not depressing moments, we three shared. Amazingly, showing the little white snow-coned promotional elf on Facebook, sparked an incredible response from friends and locals spread all over the United States inquiring about where they could actually purchase the little stuffed icon. Nostalgia's like that, I guess...

What's old is again, new... who knew!

Copyright 2014/ Ben Bensen III