Today, I am eight-years old for the second time. Sure, I carry myself in the body of a 39-year old. I'm hairier and heavier than the last time I turned eight. But make no mistake. Thanks to the magic of eBay, I am reliving my childhood in a very meaningful way.
I submit to you photographs of my favorite childhood toy animal. It was a kangaroo puppet named Foopy Doo.
Lest you think I have lost it completely, allow me to explain.
When I was approximately eight years old, my Dad took me to open a savings account at the Continental Bank in the Chicagoland area. Their slogan was, "It's the big bank with the little bank inside". It made for a catchy little jingle. The kangaroo was their mascot in their television commercials.
This particular year, Continental contracted Jim Henson's Muppet factory to design a special kangaroo muppet which they would give away as a promotional item to new accounts. I was one of the fortunate recipients of this limited edition Muppet, which did indeed have attributes typical of a Muppet. Growing up on Sesame Street, I was thrilled to have this Muppet to be my own.
The name, Foopy Doo, was coined by my Dad. I still can't remember why, but I know it stuck almost instantly. I LOVED Foopy. In fact, my whole family loved Foopy. She was very cute, with big eyes, an adorable grin and paws that could be manipulated as she fit on my hand perfectly. It took both hands to really bring her to life effectively.
Foopy slept in my bed, was the subject of many adventures, traveled to England, France, Italy, Colorado, Montana, Florida, the Caribbean, as well as many other destinations. She was often the featured actress in our Super-8 home movies. And why not? She was incredibly photogenic!
Foopy was my Velveteen Rabbit, a stuffed animal brought to life by the love of a child. (Yes, I knew she was not real. I don't need medication, thank you very much) In fact, she was SO loved that she needed a great deal of medical attention. Her big black nose fell off, the pink fabric covering her mouth developed holes, her ears split open, her fur wore off in large patches and she developed arthritis. Fortunately, my mom was an expert stuffed animal surgeon. Well, maybe not an expert, but she did a pretty good job operating on Foopy.
Alas, the years went by and I grew up (sort of). Foopy found a place on the shelf and she is really showing her years. Today, she sits high atop my office desk looking down on me as I work. Ocassionally, she comes down from her loft to sing a song to my eight-year old, Jenna. Frequently, I am asked to sketch Foopy for my kids, a skill I perfected many years ago. I can't draw much, but I can draw Foopy Doo.
So why am I eight-years old again this evening? While nothing can ever replace Foopy Doo, I have been on the hunt for another Continental Bank promotional Muppet for quite some time. I imagine no other child ever loved one of these as much as I did, but there must be another one out there somewhere. Thanks to the magic of eBay, the kangaroo-hunt has come to a happy ending.
Last week, I spotted an auction. Take a look at the photos and you'll see what Foopy looked like when I first got her, before she became "real".
Tonight, I was the high bidder for the item. I have done over one thousand transactions on eBay. None have brought me so much excitement as this stupid kangaroo puppet toy! I can not wait to get Foopy Two in my own two hands and reminisce over more innocent days gone by.
Ah, if only life was always lived at this level of simplicity...
congrats-wow, I don't remember foopy looking that good...now if we could only locate a mr. meow.
I was the guy that did the puppet promotion. I was the ad & sales promotion manager for Continental & believe me, it took a lot of work to get Jim Henson to agree to do a puppet.
Our fallback was Ollie Dragon from the Chicago puppet showm Kukla, Fran & Ollie, but Henson finally agreed to do it.
Do you remember the bank lobby filled with Muppets? Not the sesame street puppets, because Hennson had sole the rights, but his other ones.
The promotion was a reasonable success, but did not come near the others we ran. Collector plates, calculators and of course the stuffed kangaroo doll.
Anyway, it's nice to know that it had a positive impact on someeone.
I have a pristine puppet sitting on my nightstand and I too, play with it occasionally.
Your Foopy Doo was my Rau. He too went everywhere with me, and got lost many times but we were always reunited thanks to Mom. I still have Rau today but, arthritis would be the least of his problems...he has no tail and barely has arms and no support in his neck and most of his special senses are gone. I was wondering if you could tell me what your search consisted of on ebay. Thanks!
I am trying to find a link to the TV commercial. It's a big bank with a little bank inside...little bank.