Snoopy

To Cindy, Snoopy was a constant companion whom she considered a member of the family. He ate at every meal with her; they watched TV together; and his soft, cottony “fur” snuggled with her in bed at night. With Snoopy safe in her arms, she felt safe and would quickly fall asleep to sweet dreams.

Snoopy had large, button-like eyes, a puffy chocolate nose and a mouth that Cindy thought always smiled. Cindy was actually Snoopy’s second owner. Her sister, Beth, had reluctantly handed the generously stuffed animal down after Cindy had “just borrowed” him for the eighth time. The resulting squabble was settled by their dad, who suggested that Beth was getting too old for such things. Beth wisely negotiated for a new pair of ballet slippers to seal the deal.

Snoopy had aged pretty well over the years. Cindy didn’t mind that he was missing one eyebrow. Charlie, the family’s golden retriever had briefly used Snoopy as a chew toy when he was a puppy, and it was assumed he’d successfully digested it. Cindy thought Snoopy was playfully winking at her, which often made her smile when she was sad.

Resting on a pink bed pillow, Snoopy remained in that place of honor throughout Cindy’s high school years. He was always ready to listen to teen gossip or about Cindy’s secret boy crushes through his worn, floppy ears. But when it was time for Cindy to head off to college, Snoopy was left at home on the pink pillow. And, when Cindy returned home for Thanksgiving, Snoopy was “demoted” to a dusty corner of her closet – unceremoniously replaced by an oversized owl, the college’s mascot.

For her senior year, Cindy chose to rent an apartment with two of her best friends from college. As she collected some small furniture and other belongings to help make the place homier, she looked for Snoopy. He’d be a fun reminder of her childhood and join owl on her bed.But Snoopy was nowhere to be found.

“You didn’t give Snoopy to Charlie, did you mom?” she inquired.

“No,” replied her mom. “To Goodwill, with all of the clothes and shoes you’ve outgrown. But that was last spring, and you never even noticed.”

Cindy was disappointed, but couldn’t really complain, considering her mother’s spring cleaning and donation would go to others less fortunate. And, after all, those “missing” items had completely escaped her attention.

After graduating college, Cindy took an accounting job at an insurance company. The company actively promoted its community service program in which employees got paid time off to tutor inner-city kids from a nearby elementary school. Cindy readily volunteered. At the program’s orientation, the volunteers learned that many of the young students were well behind grade level because their families frequently moved from one place to another. The saddest example was of a first grader who had been enrolled at the school for just two months. One day, she walked home from school to find her family’s apartment completely abandoned – no parents, no furniture…nothing!

On the first day of tutoring, Cindy spotted a quiet little girl, sitting alone in the corner of the room. As Cindy headed across the room, a teacher caught Cindy’s arm and whispered in her ear, “That’s the girl we told you volunteers about. Her name is Maria. Temporarily, she’s staying with an aunt we were able to locate; they’re still looking for her parents.”

Cindy nodded that she understood and, with a friendly smile, slowly approached Maria. The shy girl made eye contact ever-so-briefly as Cindy neared, then looked down, clutching the donated backpack in her lap., Cindy noticed that Maria’s right hand was hidden inside the backpack and appeared to be moving.

“Whatcha got there?” Cindy inquired sweetly, hoping to engage Maria in conversation. The gentle tone of the question was just enough to get Maria to make eye contact. As Cindy sat down in the child-size chair across from Maria, the little girl looked her over carefully as if to judge if Cindy could be trusted with her answer. Satisfied with what she saw, Maria slowly eased her tiny hand out of the backpack. First, a fluffy chocolate nose emerged. Then large round eyes, with one eyebrow missing.

A broad smile crossed Cindy’s face as she said Maria, “Hey, I think he’s winking at us.” Maria giggled a little. Cindy continued, “Do you know what happened to his eyebrow, Maria?” The little girl shook her head from side to side. Cindy leaned closer and whispered, “Do you want to know a secret?”