Several years ago, I was on my way to a child's birthday party and my gift was an almost 3 foot tall stuffed penguin. I had tossed it into the passenger seat but quickly discovered that anytime (for any reason) that I hit the brakes, the darn thing would go flying all over the car. At the next stop light, I grabbed the toy and using the seat belt, strapped it in.
It didn't take long for me to notice that the top of the penguin's head stuck up enough over the base of the window that other drivers around me could see and were straining their necks to see what I had in the front seat of my car! The reactions were hilarious. Thoroughly enjoying myself, I went out later after the party and bought one for myself and strapped him in (for safety).
In rapid succession more penguins joined the pack until there were 10 of them going along for the ride - and not just any stuffed penguin could make the cut - they had to look somewhat real - nothing cartoony and no clothes (exception being my Pier 1 penguin - what a cute hat!)!! My friends and family got a real kick out of them and soon they became our keyword for denoting the sharing of confidences (what is said in front of the penguins - STAYS in front of the penguins - kind of like Vegas, only plushier). (For the friends and family who professed distain of my fuzzy companions, I say 'they are my whimsy'!)
Last spring while I was shopping for my new Ford Focus, I set up a twitter account (@The10Penguins) for the penguins as a sort of social media experiment. Believe it or not, Ford's Service department actually started following them! They don't tweet much anymore, but it was interesting once again to gage the reactions of people to the stuffed seat warmers!
The Penguins came along when I bought my new Focus and (space permitting) have been my road buddies on most of my adventures. Here they are in all their backseat glory!
It didn't take long for me to notice that the top of the penguin's head stuck up enough over the base of the window that other drivers around me could see and were straining their necks to see what I had in the front seat of my car! The reactions were hilarious. Thoroughly enjoying myself, I went out later after the party and bought one for myself and strapped him in (for safety).
In rapid succession more penguins joined the pack until there were 10 of them going along for the ride - and not just any stuffed penguin could make the cut - they had to look somewhat real - nothing cartoony and no clothes (exception being my Pier 1 penguin - what a cute hat!)!! My friends and family got a real kick out of them and soon they became our keyword for denoting the sharing of confidences (what is said in front of the penguins - STAYS in front of the penguins - kind of like Vegas, only plushier). (For the friends and family who professed distain of my fuzzy companions, I say 'they are my whimsy'!)
Last spring while I was shopping for my new Ford Focus, I set up a twitter account (@The10Penguins) for the penguins as a sort of social media experiment. Believe it or not, Ford's Service department actually started following them! They don't tweet much anymore, but it was interesting once again to gage the reactions of people to the stuffed seat warmers!
The Penguins came along when I bought my new Focus and (space permitting) have been my road buddies on most of my adventures. Here they are in all their backseat glory!
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