Report from Stuffed Animal Limbo

On the top shelf of my closet, in an ancient wicker clothes basket, for the past twenty years or so has dwelt a collection of velveteen rabbit-ish stuffed animals that belonged to one of our sons.  The time has never been right for these animals to be removed to the son's home many miles away, nor has the time ever been right for the collection to be dumped.  So today I visited that bardo, that limbo place, and checked out the animals.  I half expected them to be mouse-eaten or mildewed to fuzz balls.  But no, the 24 animals were in fine shape.  They are a little musty these days, and all their rough spots and rubbed areas and stained places and missing eyes and buttons are still there.  But they seem to have acquired no new damage during their long period of neglect.  So I thought they would make a good addition to the 10,000.  Each one is labeled with its name, which we remembered immediately upon seeing each animal.