PADDINGTON BEAR & ME

i was doing a Proust quiz on Vanity Fair (as you do...) and one of the questions was "who was your childhood idol?". the first thought to come into mind was Paddington Bear. i loved old PB - i dressed like him, always wellies & duffle coat. it occurred to me that i identified with PB.
Paddington (born Pastuso) was orphaned young and raised in Darkest Peru, by an aunt. when she went to live in the Home for Retired Bears, she taught him English and arranged for him to stow away on a ship. the little bear eventually arrived at Paddington Station in London. soon the Brown family noticed him sitting all alone on the platform, wearing a note around his neck "please look after this bear, thank you", then scooped him up and took him home. He claims, "I came all the way in a lifeboat, and ate marmalade. Bears like marmalade."
my parents separated when i was a baby, as a child, i grew-up in two households, i always had a suitcase - according to my mother, psychologists even have a general name for it, the "baggage kids". it makes sense that little 4yr old me identified with this fury character, plus i was an only child, PB was all alone too.
i also remembered that a couple years ago, i was saying goodbye to a friend at Paddington Station and i saw the PB they have walking around, for travelers to take pictures with - i burst into tears, i so wanted to hug the bear, i felt so desolate! needless to say i did not make a spectacle of myself by tearfully hugging the bear, but went home instead. PB is lucky the Browns found him and gave him a home.