John Donald O'Shea

The Story of an America that no longer exists. What was it like to live in America 90 years ago? Have you ever needed to use an outhouse at two in the morning? Bathed in a corrugated metal tub with water heated on a wood-burning stove? Read at night by kerosine lamp? Got on your knees in early morning and prayed that your father might find job that day? Has your mother darned socks and made clothes for you from flour sacks? Have you ever subsisted for days on a diet of oatmeal? The memoirs collected in this book tell of an America where families and neighbors came together to help each other survive America's longest and deepest economic depression. These are memories of ordinary Americans of a time now nearly forgotten. Today we have electricity, central heating, air conditioning, indoor plumbing, television and computers. As you read this book, you should find yourself asking, "are these the things that really matter?"

"The Stuffed Animal" is the name of a small Victorian-style shop, belonging to a middle-aged woman, Miss Abigail Grace. Miss Grace has one abiding interest in life - finding stuffed animals and dolls at neighborhood yard sales, "rescuing" them and repairing them in her little shop. She describes her shop as a "retirement home for dolls and teddies that were once the favorite toy of a small boy or girl." Early one Christmas Eve, Cindy Kim, now an adult, chances to meet Miss Grace on the street. Cindy inquires of her favorite childhood doll, Sabrina Ballerina. Cindy's mom had put Sabrina in a yard sale, and had recalled Miss Grace buying Sabrina. Miss Grace remembers finding Sabrina and takes Cindy to her shop for a Christmas reunion with Sabrina. As she enters, Cindy meets Tommy, Susie and the other rescued dolls and teddies, and learns their stories. Then as Cindy and Sabrina are happily reunited, an uninvited crone, Vendetta Cage, enters the shop, sees and offers to buy Sabrina. When that fails, Ms. Cage undertakes to "steal" the doll. Happily, Ms. Cage's plan is thwarted when she trips over Ms. Grace's rather large sleeping dog, Furf (short for "Furface"), who had plopped down just inside the shop's door. With Ms. Cage foiled, a Merry Christmas ensues for Cindy and Sabrina.