Walter

This is Walter.

Everyone needs a Teddy bear, and my dear wife got this one for me years ago. He was originally meant to travel with me during a dark time on my job, so he could be on my bed in whatever hotel I stayed, but I was afraid to lose him, and he guards my bedside table instead, and makes me smile. He is made from sock, I think, and stuffed with nylon hose, so he feels wonderful.

His full name is Grunewald, after Matthias Grunewald, a German artist who painted one of the most powerful passion and resurrection works of the Northern Renaissance, the Isenheim Alter. Make sure you also look at the Resurrection panel, which influenced many artists over centuries.

My bear pronounces his name as "Groonehvahldeh" and I shortened it to Walter. I have no idea why he is named after this painter - he just is. Unless it has something to do with the way God likes to mix up the serious with the ridiculous. It's one of His themes.

Walter has a nice deep growl, though only I can hear it.

Thanks to Olga's Gallery for links to photos of Grunewald's magnificent work.