Robert Bissell

I don’t know when WhiskerFace first arrived at our home.  Certainly before I was three.  From my earliest memory, he is a constant bedtime presence - and an extraordinary story teller.

And he was not a toy - meaning I was not allowed to play with him.  Rather he sat on my father’s hand, telling a story.  When the story was over, he left with my father.  Under adult supervision, I was occasionally allowed to gently hold WhiskerFace, permitted even to wear him on my hand.  But never to play with him. 

The stories always involved WhiskerFace … and me.  Sometimes  a friend would be missing and WhiskerFace and I would venture forth -- hiking through the forest, or canoeing across the lake, or pedaling our bikes down the path.  Eventually, we’d solve the mystery of course. 

Or a stuffed rabbit, one of WhiskerFace’s friends, would set off on some harebrained scheme.  And we’d have to rescue our comrade and set things right.  Often the stories were all adventure and fun.  But sometimes they carried a moral:  Be Kind.  Be Helpful.  Be Respectful.  And Have Fun!  WhiskerFace, you see, could also be quite silly. 

The stories worked:  I usually did not attempt to delay bedtime.  And I bet they continued until I was 9 or 10.  And even when I was older, WhiskerFace would make unexpected appearances on the hand of my father.  When I had children, WhiskerFace moved to my home and continued his stories.  I maintained the same rules:  Gentle holding was fine - but no rough play!  After all, he was in his thirties then.

WhiskerFace must be in his seventies now.  But, unlike the rest of us, he hasn’t aged a whisker. 

And now he is entertaining the fourth generation of our family.  My granddaughters love WhiskerFace - and love his storied adventures, which, of course, always involve them.  They are respectful and kind to him.  And WhiskerFace always makes them the heroines of each bedtime story.     

I guess it’s obvious that WhiskerFace has accomplished one more feat within our family:  He has connected the four generations.  My father never knew his great-granddaughters, but his effect on them is quite real.