Thursday, April 8, 2010

Coast to coast

I’m not sure if the penguin ornament collection had already gone international, but with these two stuffed leather pals it officially spanned the continent. My first all-penguin tree was in New York City in 1982 or 1983 when I had collected enough for a small tree to look halfway decent. Not wanting to keep the penguins to myself, I had a Christmas party maybe a year or so later. Everyone brought penguins. It surprised me that everyone was able to find penguin ornaments. Well, one person brought a flamingo, which I allowed on the tree as a very distant bird cousin for a couple of years, and another brought a bird, which I’ll introduce later, that’s still on the tree. One of these leather guys arrived at that party, I believe, but I don’t remember who brought it. The second one came soon after from a friend of a friend who was visiting from Modesto, Calif. I don’t remember if he had seen the penguin tree, but he knew about it and he knew about my other penguins too. It’s nice having two of these. I hope that friend in Modesto and the person who came to the party know how much I’ve enjoyed their thoughtful gifts.

Two stuffed leather penguins with red ribbon bow ties                                                                                    
Acquired: 1980s
Number: 0047 0048
Size: 4.25 inches tall

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