Have you ever lost your glasses, looked all over for them, cursed your family for putting them somewhere, and then found them on top of your head? Have you written yourself a reminder, displayed it prominently on your computer screen, stared at it all day, and then forgotten to do the thing you'd reminded yourself of? We all do bonehead things from time to time, so I'm willing to cut myself a bit of slack for what I'm about to confess. But I definitely had a headdesk moment earlier today.
All the goodwill I've been seeing over the past week inspired me to share the story of the traveling bears with the recipients of the original traveling bear, the one who inspired this organization...the one who is still missing. I dug through old emails until I found the exchanges I had with a few organizations during my original search, and when I reread one of them, my jaw dropped.
Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, where the bear was sent after a mass shooting in 1999, has a photo of the bear. A PHOTO OF THE BEAR! Two years ago, so many people were asking me for a photo of the bear, and I didn't think one existed. Yet right there in my inbox, two years ago, was a note saying someone had a photo.
Headdesk headdesk headdesk.
But you can't change the past, so I moved forward. I asked my contact at Wedgwood for a photo, and she sent one almost immediately. If you zoom in, you can see the notes attached that say he was in Oklahoma City, Montoursville, PA, and Littleton, CO. I know from two years ago that Wedgwood sent him to a school in California, and that's his last known location. But now that we have a photo, maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to find him.
All the goodwill I've been seeing over the past week inspired me to share the story of the traveling bears with the recipients of the original traveling bear, the one who inspired this organization...the one who is still missing. I dug through old emails until I found the exchanges I had with a few organizations during my original search, and when I reread one of them, my jaw dropped.
Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, where the bear was sent after a mass shooting in 1999, has a photo of the bear. A PHOTO OF THE BEAR! Two years ago, so many people were asking me for a photo of the bear, and I didn't think one existed. Yet right there in my inbox, two years ago, was a note saying someone had a photo.
Headdesk headdesk headdesk.
But you can't change the past, so I moved forward. I asked my contact at Wedgwood for a photo, and she sent one almost immediately. If you zoom in, you can see the notes attached that say he was in Oklahoma City, Montoursville, PA, and Littleton, CO. I know from two years ago that Wedgwood sent him to a school in California, and that's his last known location. But now that we have a photo, maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to find him.