I had a teddy bear once. His name was Honey Bear, and I was convinced he was real. I dragged him to and fro, rode with him in the Junior Rose Festival parade, and got made fun of by my cousins... multiple times... all because I believed in the realness of my stuffed bear. Who is now buried in a box somewhere in my closet. It's not that I stopped liking teddy bears... I still have plenty of unboxed ones lying around my bedroom. It's just that, at some point -- around the sixth grade, if I recall -- I began to lose some of that childhood innocence that allows a child to have such an imaginative outlook on life. Oh, who am I kidding? In sixth grade, I got a stuffed poodle and hippo, pretended they were real, and ditched the bear. A grasp on reality -- what's that? Never heard of it! Meanwhile, this franchise called Build-a-Bear has spawned stores in shopping malls across America, and I couldn't help but take notice. Not only does the store allow you to make a bear, it lets you buy clothes for it and dress it up. Wholey shiot! It's like you've got kids, only without the noise and the smell and the huge financial burden! Right on! A week ago, I went to Build-a-Bear with my friend Andrea, with the intent of making some bears... and to document our experience for generations to come. So if you've never been to a Build-a-Bear and would like to see what it's all about, keep reading... Saturday afternoon -- probably not the best time to visit Build-a-Bear, since it is a prime day for birthday parties and the influx of small children. Translation: it's crowded. But that's okay, since it sort of draws the attention toward the kiddies and away from two twentysomething chics with a video camera. Mwahaha. So the first thing you do when you get there is pick out a bear skin. It sounds gross, but it's what you must do. You will be confronted with bins of skins... ... or fur, whatever you want to call it. And not just bears'. We're talking rabbits, frogs, other things. All fluffless. And you know what? It's pretty sad when they're fluffless like that. They flap around like there's no tomorrow. Fluff them, we must! Yes, that there bear with a stick up his... back... is getting the ol' fluff treatment. Now, before this happens, one can opt to have a sound chip put in his or her bear, but we wanted quiet bears, so we decided against this. So in goes the fluff. It all comes from this big machine that swirls the cotton around like so... You're really not supposed to think of it like bear parts being tossed about, but I couldn't help it, my mind went there anyway. After the bear is stuffed to perfection, the Build-a-Bear employee assisting you in the Bear Creation process will lead you through a ritual that involves inserting a tiny plush heart in the bear after making a wish. Then the employee sews the bear up. Ding, ding, your bear is ready! Time to give them a bath... This is actually an amusing contraption that looks like a bear bathtub but really is just a thing that shoots air out at the bears. Still... lots of fun for the young at heart. What we are now faced with is two clean but very nekkid bears. Bears without identities... but not for long! Next comes a process where one must name his or her bear. After entering identifiable information, the bear will now have a name and -- upon payment at the front register -- his or her very own birth certificate. Now, as for that pesky Nekkid Bear problem, there is a solution to that... They've got everything. Bear jeans, socks, dresses. Teddy underwear. Bear jerseys and hats and ballet slippers. Not to mention furniture and accessories. Once you've chosen what your bear will wear, it's time to head to the... The dressing room includes a counter and a nice mirror, so your bear can change in... well, not in privacy or anything, but style, at least. Andrea's (female) bear has quite a lot to put on, as she has a skirt, shirt, hat, boots, purse, and sunglasses. My (male) bear goes the plain & simple route with just a pre-packaged baseball outfit and shoes... and a mitt, ball, and bat that come separately. The bears are finally finished, and it's time to go home. At the check-out (payment) counter, you are presented with your bear's birth certificate, as well as a nice box in the shape of a small house. Think: pet carrier, only more cardboardy. Our bears are now completely built. And, once at home, Teri Bear and Dean Bear relax together on the couch. The bears' resemblance to any really cool actors, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. I just like these pictures, okay? :) To learn more about the franchise or to find a Build-a-Bear near you, visit BuildABear.com Leave a message in the guestbook to comment on this article. :) (c)2004 AlligatorJuice.com