I am Giorgelina Zioli and I will read from my memoirs and the magical world of my inner child and God.
A reading from Jack and the Guys.
The marvelous world of the child within.
A memoir.
My heart felt gratitude to Jack for allowing me to share his sweet story.
I had been a silent child and in my 50s my child within broke the silence through my writing.
She had finally found a space where she felt safe with Stuart in my therapy sessions,
With God in our magical world,
And with Monkey and the Guys.
My stuffed animals,
Remember?
Okay,
So here we go.
2003.
One day I walked into a toy store and said,
Do you have any stuffed turtles?
And that's how Sheldon became a part of our family.
Sheldon lives in Stuart's office and has a very reassuring presence,
So Stuart likes him behind the clock because if a client gives him a hard time,
Stuart can look at Sheldon and feels all better.
Bye-bye,
Sheldon,
Says Monkey,
Stroking that round,
Soft,
Huggable,
Oh-so-huggable green head.
Monkey can't wait to see Sheldon again.
He likes sitting on my lap,
But he loves Sheldon's hugs too.
Later.
Monkey,
You haven't said a word.
I think I'm in love,
Jay.
With Sheldon?
Yeah,
He's so very green.
Can't get enough of him,
Huh?
He's so warm and fuzzy,
Just like you,
Huh?
I'm not green,
Jay.
Well,
That's true.
Of course it's true.
I know about these things.
You sure do,
Monkey boy,
You sure do.
Another day.
Jay?
Yes,
Monkey?
I miss Sheldon.
You'll see him tomorrow,
Little guy.
Tomorrow?
I better lick my fur to make myself pretty for Sheldon.
He will like you with or without licks,
Monkey.
He will?
Of course he will.
He loves you just the way you are.
He does?
Of course he does.
Don't you love him just the way he is?
With that round green head?
That's right.
I love his green head,
And his smile is out of this world.
Like yours,
Huh?
Yeah,
I have a great smile.
You sure do,
Monkey,
You sure do.
Shortly after Sheldon's arrival,
The twins came,
As soft and warm and sweet as any sibling of Sheldon could be.
The twins also live with Stuart.
I hold them during sessions.
They love me.
When twin soft turtles look at you like that,
You just know there's nothing wrong with you.
Another day at the pharmacy,
A pair of brown hairy paws followed by intense despairing eyes reached out to me,
And that's how a mushroom bear joined our family.
Then came Mushroom's twin.
The mushroom bears are the lonely part of me that needs to be held,
And Molly,
The small purple bear,
Is the little robot in me,
The part of me that feels very sad,
But not so much anymore.
Then came Angel Bear,
As beautiful as any angel can be,
And Puppy,
The playful part of me,
The magical world of my stuffed animals.
We just didn't know our family was about to double up.
In August of 2003,
I met Jack at a 12-step meeting.
At the end of the month,
I'll be homeless again,
He said,
And my heart went out to him.
Jack had remained a child inside,
As I had.
He was as attached to his stuffed animals as I was to mine.
Jack,
The man-child,
Was falling through the cracks of the mental health system,
As I was falling through the cracks of life.
Jack,
A soul of gold,
Seemed destined to homelessness.
But wait,
I had two empty bedrooms in my home,
And Jack was about to become homeless.
I couldn't let that happen.
There had been an instant connection.
Jack's very presence spoke of goodness and integrity.
His very presence told me that I would be safe with him in the house,
And so I extended the invitation.
September 27,
2003.
Dear Jack,
Monkey,
The guys,
And I would be very happy if you moved in with us and shared our home.
You have been through enough.
You can rest now.
In October that year,
Jack moved in with us,
And with him came Felix the bear,
Leo the tiny lion,
Bob the elephant,
And many others.
Jack helped me with the house and the yard and the car.
It was only a temporary arrangement,
For I had to sell the house.
What would happen to him then?
I didn't want to think about it.
Life with Jack was unique.
We shared our magical world of stuffed animals.
We had quite a family.
Eternity 2004.
Jay?
Yes?
The house is no longer empty,
Little one,
Says God.
No,
It isn't.
A housemate and 24 stuffed animals looking out the window make a pretty good population,
Huh?
Oh yeah.
Jack says the guys are looking out into the world.
So you walk into the living room and see all their little butts sitting on the back of the sofa,
Huh?
Yeah,
Jack arranges them like that.
Running around,
Preparing to sell the house,
Time and time again I bump into things,
And into Jack.
Run me over,
That's okay,
He would say.
Jack made me laugh.
He taught me important words such as pish posh.
I introduced him to hunky-dunky.
One day I come home and find him by the window holding Felix the bear.
I'm showing him the first note,
Jack explains.
I prayed with the guys,
Jack would report.
Where are monkey and angel bear,
I ask.
They are talking to Felix right this moment,
He replies.
The mushroom bears sit on the kitchen table while I prepare breakfast.
Jack walks in.
Good morning,
Gentlemen,
He says,
And he is all serious about it.
Jack lightened my heart.
He appeared in my life one year after I had taken my mother,
My sweet nana Tita,
To the nursing home.
I gave Jack a room in my home.
He gave me back a piece of myself.
I was in the fight for survival and my heart had hardened.
Jack was a gentleman and his warmth,
His innocence,
His manner softened me.
May I take your rub,
Madam,
He would say.
June 23,
2004.
With Jack in the kitchen eating molasses bread.
I'm a pygmy,
I say.
You've got the pig part right,
He replies,
And we laugh.
We only have a couple of weeks left as housemates,
Then we'll part.
One month later,
I sold the house.
Jack helped me move.
I helped him find a new home and we've remained friends forever.
