The Velveteen Rabbit

....."What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

....."Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

....."Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

....."Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful.

This morning in the woods, the Velveteen Rabbit crossed my path. I thought back to the little boy who had helped him to become real, and a lump came in my throat, for now the boy is grown and far away, and his toys are of a different kind.

I thought too of the parallel between the Velveteen Rabbit and the aging children who share this space: sometimes they, too, become real. The ones who do, do it gradually, first hiding behind carefully chosen identities, then slowly exposing themselves. I do not love them into reality like the little boy did, but they become real by the consistency of what they write and the messages they leave. They enrich and brighten my world.

You cannot truly love a fictional character, nor can you grieve the death of someone who is “pretend.” This week I learned that Lance, the blogger known to us as Baron Ectar, died very unexpectedly, and I am grieving that loss. He was a good person.
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He was someone who had become real in this pretend world of blogging.



Thank you, Baron, for your thoughtfulness and your willingness to help. Thank you for the music you shared with us. Your introspection and striving to "get life right" were an inspiration.
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May peace be with you and your family.
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You may click here for the full text (with pictures) of The Velveteen Rabbit by Marjorie Williams.