A Random Memory from My Lips to my Daughter's Ears

In 1952, singer Patti Page’s hit song…How Much is that Doggie in the Window…was one of the popular tunes on the airwaves. I lived in Cleveland during that time. The song was playing on our car radio when my Dad turned it off. We were running an errand and I got out of the car and saw a toy store with a bear in the window, and made a bee line for it. The bear had brown fur and a green ribbon with tiny white stripes on it. I gazed at that bear and begged my Dad to buy it for me. My Dad was a sucker and I was his favorite daughter (only daughter) and we walked into the toy store and he bought that bear for me.

I didn’t need it wrapped or in a bag…I hugged it all the way to our car. To my surprise, its nubby tail had a squeaker in it and hence, I called my bear, Squeaky. Funny, when we turned the radio back on, the Doggie song was playing and my Dad sang…How Much is that Bear in the Window. He changed the lyrics and sang it for days that way.

When I went off to college, I took Squeaky with me. He would be a reminder of my home and my parents and he would be my safety net. When I got married, Squeaky moved with me to St. Louis and I had him for years even after some of my kids were born. Squeaky no longer squeaked, and the bottom of its feet wore off and I sewed some brown fabric on both. I had to replace his ribbon and I put him on the dresser in my first baby’s bedroom

Along the way, Squeaky got misplaced but in fact I am sure my then husband threw him away. But I still remember how I first saw Squeaky and how my Dad bought it for me and sang his own version of Pattie Page’s hit song. I would tell this story to my kids. I never thought anyone heard my story or even cared about it until this Christmas.

I was at my youngest daughter’s house and she handed me a present. I opened it and found some vinyl records along with Pattie Page’s record…How much is that Doggie in the Window. When I saw it I was touched and amazed that my story reached one of my kids.

I guess my memory did touch someone and for that I am grateful.

Thank you Becca for making my day and my Christmas!