My son mentioned he wanted "real food" for breakfast, and I replied, "There's eggs and bacon. Bagels. Toast. We've got it all, Freddy Rouse."
Freddy Rouse has been a constant presence in my life. Everyone--from my dad to my little brother--talks to him from time to time. I've heard the phrase, "We've got it all, Freddy Rouse," a million times.
A few days ago, I found out that Freddy Rouse never lived anywhere but in the imaginations of my dad's family. He was, in fact, the imaginary friend of my dad's youngest brother, the baby of the family. Evidently, Freddy did everything with Uncle Don, and the rest of the family went along with it. They talked to Freddy and offered him food and fun; asked questions and inquired about his general comfort.
Dad hung on to the habit, and now I realize I have, too. 65 years after Don dreamed him up, Freddy Rouse still lives with us.
Want to talk about the power of imagination?
4 comments:
Freddy is the longest living Imaginary Friend I've ever heard of. This makes me think of characters in books who take on a life of their own - like they existed first in some alternate universe and found a way into ours through a book. Freddy found his way through your family.
He feels to me like he needs his own book to tell his story.
Do your kids know him as well as you do?
What a swell story. And yeah, Deb's right——wouldn't the biography of an imaginary friend be an intersting thing.
Wonder if Amelia's grand kids will have a relationship with Becky Lemur!
I hope so.
Hysterical. My brother in law had Arfie for an invisible friend. He did all the bad things and the brother in law always got in trouble for the things Arfie did.
Post a Comment