Amy Lu's View

Once upon a time there was a small stuffed bear named Munson.

Well, he didn’t start out with that name–Munson got his name when he was adopted by the Middle-Aged Lady* one warm August day in 2016 from the MPR booth at the Minnesota State Fair. 

Munson wore a hoodie with the logo of the radio station “The Current” on it. The Middle-Aged Lady was a big fan of the Current and thought Munson was cute and squishy and would be just the right size to cuddle with. 

Munson had a great day at the Fair with the Middle Aged Lady and her Friend Wanda. They had a surplus amount of adult beverage and we’re very giggly and almost ran into a locally famous musician and Current radio personality John Munson. As they were in a giggly and silly mood they thought it would be funny to name Munson the bear after Munson the Musician and that is how Munson got his name.

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Munson saw many interesting sights at the Fair–beer, cheese curds, live music, crowds of people, beer–but when he went home with the Middle Aged Lady he happily settled into a calm life. Munson spent most of his days peacefully in the Middle Aged Lady’s bedroom. 

Some people think that only children or puppies can love and need stuffed animals, but these people are confused and/or not fully informed. People of all ages, including Middle Aged Ladies, can love stuffed animals.

Munson was happy and content with the Middle Aged Lady, and he had a VERY IMPORTANT JOB. He had to cuddle with the Middle Aged Lady every night so she could sleep. No, she wasn’t afraid of monsters (although sometimes in the middle of the night the Middle Aged Lady seemed afraid of spreadsheets and weight gain) but she didn’t know what to do with her spindly arms if she wasn’t hugging Munson. Without Munson, she would be extra flaily and restless while trying to sleep (which would also disturb the slumber of her beloved Middle Aged Man).

The Middle Aged Lady loved Munson, and she also loved a new puppy thing that she and her Middle Aged Man brought to live with them one day. They called him StanLee. This puppy creature was cute but very excited with lots and lots of energy, and he didn’t know quite how to love things in the right way (without causing bodily harm).

One time when the Middle Aged Lady and her Man weren’t paying attention, StanLee showed Munson how much he loved him by chewing his arm until it almost fell off. 

This didn’t hurt Munson but it did feel funny. The Middle Aged Lady continued to love Munson and sleep with him every night–sometimes even with StanLee, who could be an accomplished cuddler when he wasn’t chewing–but from then on she made sure to keep an eye out for StanLee’s overexuberant demonstrations of affection. 

Munson’s fur grew a little tattier and rattier each night as he got hugged and squeezed and he had that whole barely attached arm situation, but the Middled Aged Lady (and Man) thought he was adorable.

The Middle Aged Lady and Man were home almost all the time, especially in a time called “2020”. But then one day they went on an adventure and took a trip to visit family in the wilds of a mysterious and magical land called “Wisconsin”. 

The Middle Aged Lady decided to bring Munson along to help her sleep in a place that was not her home. She thought Munson would be especially helpful since her spindly arms would be extra flaily after hours of anxiously hoping that StanLee did not chew on any other puppies or plants or people (particularly small ones) in Wisconsin. 

Munson enjoyed snuggling in a different bed in a different house. It was new and unusual! But, when the Middle Aged Lady went home with the Middle Aged Man and StanLee, she left Munson buried in the bed and forgot to bring him home!

Munson is patient and can hang out at the Ancestral Home of the Middle Aged Man while he waits to see how his story unfolds. He knows through the mystical psychic connection that stuffed animals share with their owners that the Middle Aged Lady, and especially the Middle Aged Man, felt very sad and guilty about abandoning him. They hope they are reunited with him when they return to visit the magical land of Wisconsin. 

As the Middle Aged Lady’s spindly arms at night continue to resemble those of a dancing Muppet, she has enlisted the service of a recently discovered stuffed Curious George to hug. (This is not his story). 

Munson is not jealous of Curious George as his stuffed heart is just full of love (even for the Krakenesque Tazmanian Devil Beast known as StanLee) and knows the Middle Aged Lady (even as she becomes the Old Aged Lady) can wrap her spindly flailing arms around them all if given the chance. 

Until that day he will dream of hugs and cheese curds.

(*Yes, a perhaps unsuccessful riff on the “Man in the Yellow Hat” from Curious George. It’s not as good because it’s not as specific–the world is full of Middle Aged Ladies–but I’m not ready to commit to wearing just one color…)