"Waldo"

by Sherry Freeman

From the time Benji was only a few months old he has always loved and treasured Waldo! Waldo is a beanie baby monkey that wears a red and white stripped sock hat.
Benji took Waldo EVERYWHERE he went! When Benji got to be about 7 months old, he got brave enough to venture out to other rooms of the house without me having to be in his view. However, he always took Waldo with him! I'm not sure if he needed him for moral support or if he was just another monkey to blame when something went wrong! It was nothing to hear me hollering, "Where's Waldo?" at Benji's bedtime! He had to have him!
Benji is 3½ years old now and just the other day I went out to check the wading pool in Sammy & Benji's outdoor enclosure and I could not believe my eyes! There was Waldo, face up in the pool! I wrote to my internet friends and in the subject line was, "Oh my Gawd, they've killed Waldo!" Along with a photo attached of Waldo floating face up in the pool. I thought everyone knew Benji's favorite buddy, Waldo! But later that day I received a post stating I scared this person half to death! She thought Waldo was a *real* monkey! I really felt bad about that once I quit laughing! hehehe..