Why I Love Winnie the Pooh

From the original 1925 copy of "The House at Pooh Corner"

When I was very young, during WWII, we had “blackout nights” in my town.

I lived in south-central B.C. in a place called Summerland. It was a delightful area for a small girl to grow up, except for these reminders that the world was an angry place for many people. Summerland was in the Okanagan Valley and only about 330 miles from the Pacific Ocean. The authorities feared that at some point, the Japanese might send over bombers, and we should be ready at night, with our windows blacked out.

Since both my father and much-older brother had enlisted, my mother and I were alone. So it was up to poor mom to put tarpaper over the windows, turn the lights down low, and try to keep a small 5-year-old from being too frightened. During these times, she would read to me; and the books I loved best were all about Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh and his delightful friends. To this day, I still have my original copies of “When We Were Very Young” and “The House at Pooh Corner” in my home library.

I know there have been short featurettes in the past, based on these enchanting characters, but I never had the opportunity to see them. Now I discover they have made a full-length feature, which opened in movie theatres last Friday. Even though, I don’t have grandchildren, I intend to see it; and I think that, if you seniors out there are grandparents, it will be a enjoyable way to spend a rainy day with them. Take them to this endearing movie, and I’m sure, they’ll remember the day, for the rest of their lives.