The Snuggle and Socko Show

When my sister was two, she got a teddy bear. It was the Snuggle Fabric Softener Bear, so it got to be named Snuggle. He was soft and fluffy back then, but now he is almost as bald as an old man, he�s missing his tongue, and has about five holes that need patching. We played lots of imagination games when we were little, and we created a very elaborate one with Snuggle. One Christmas, my sister got a sock monkey kit. My mom stitched up the brown, red, and white socks to make a long, skinny spider monkey. He got to be named Socko. We took our imagination game further with Socko, and created the most creative game, so crazy, it could be fiction. This is the story of The Socko Show.
Socko was the star of a live children�s show called The Socko Show. He was the perfect host because he led a squeaky-clean life that was free from scandal, and he was genuinely caring and smart. The best way to describe the show would be to compare it to The Bozo Show. It had cartoons skits and games. It also had educational value because Socko would also teach to the kiddies, as the kids who watched the show were called, things such as simple math, science, and social studies. The prizes for winning the games would always consist of Socko brand merchandise. Socko brand merchandise consisted of anything you could think of. You name it; he made it.
The Socko Show was doing OK in the ratings, but it needed some more pizzazz because although everyone loved Socko, he was still a little bland. Snuggle was Socko�s best friend, and he lived with Socko and Socko�s grandmother, Granny Monkey. Granny Monkey was an old monkey with brown fur and gray hair on her head that was tied back in a bun. She was overweight, and she wore granny glasses and a dress all the time.
One day, Socko decided to invite Snuggle and Granny to a taping of the show. Snuggle was very immature for his age, very hyper and rambunctious, could not sit still, and was always hungry. He ran around the stage, thinking he was automatically invited to be with his buddy Socko, and screamed in a high-pitched squeak, �I want a Socko Goodie Basket!� Socko Goodie Baskets were really small cardboard containers that resembled the old McDonald�s Happy Meal boxes and consisted of brightly colored toys, candy, games, and coupons. Every time Socko gave Snuggle a Goodie Basket, Snuggle inhaled the food like a vacuum cleaner inhaled dirt and begged for another one.
Socko got so fed up with Snuggle, that he threw him into a big vat of bright red strawberry jell-o that was going to be used in the next skit for a big jell-o fight. The vat was made of clear glass, the size of a refrigerator, and cylindrical. Snuggle began to slide back and forth across the bright red jiggly jell-o like he was an ice-skater. After he realized that it was jell-o, he began eating through it at the speed of a falling skydiver without a parachute, and soon the jell-o was all gone. Snuggle began hollering to get out. The stagehands got a couple of ten-foot ladders and got him out. As soon as he was free, he ran around Socko in circles screaming, �I want a Socko Goodie Basket!�
Socko was fuming at this point because this bottomless pit of a bear was ruining his show. He hoisted snuggle up, and threw him into a large black trashcan. Surprisingly, Snuggle began eating the contents of the garbage which consisted of old, brown droopy banana peels; caramel-colored, wilted apple cores; brown, limp, and stinky lettuce leaves; crispety crunchety egg shells; and other wonderful goodies one might find in a compost heap.
After finishing off every last morsel in the garbage can, Snuggle let out a belch so loud that it could be heard ten miles around. Socko was so disgusted and embarrassed that he left Snuggle in the garbage can for the remainder of the show, and all the while, Snuggle was throwing a tantrum and angrily shouting, �I WANT A SOCKO GOODIE BASKET!�
At the end of the show, Socko�s boss, a middle aged human woman, appropriately nicknamed Bossy, came up to Socko and said excitedly, �The ratings are higher than ever! Snuggle must become your sidekick!�
Snuggle heard this and was delighted. He thought to himself cunningly, �Now I can have all the Socko Goodie Baskets I want. Hee hee hee.�
The Socko show from then on consisted of Snuggle eating everything in sight, and acting silly while the rest of the show remained the same, with Snuggle interrupting somehow every time.
Occasionally, Socko would have some special shows called Socko on Location. One hundred families who paid money or won a free ticket would join Snuggle and Socko on a trip somewhere. This was achieved by a long train of black stretch limos, each limo carrying two families. The front limo contained Snuggle, Socko, Granny, Bossy, and the crew, and it had a big Socko head hood ornament. Everyone always had a very good time at Socko on Location, so seats were hard to reserve.
We played this game often, so there are lots more less interesting things that happened in The Socko Show. Each one was different, and they all were funny. Before Socko came into the picture, Snuggle had his own life that we played, and after Socko came, we changed the characters, and the pretend game evolved further. So, the moral of this story is that sometimes, actual events can be stranger and more interesting than fiction.