Goose theft

This morning, WCK and I went to the front window to wave goodbye to Jay as he left for work. We were stunned to discover that our concrete goose had vanished. Yes. SOMEBODY STOLE MY GOOSE.

Here is a photo of the goose in happier times, dressed as an apple for WCK's first day of school:




My grandpa bought this goose for my grandma maybe 20 years ago as a special present. My grandma had a great sense of fun; she had lots of outfits for the goose, and she'd dress it up for holidays and family gatherings. When my grandma passed away in 2001, I inherited the goose and her collection of outfits. I continued to buy my own outfits for the goose, mostly from a great web site: www.gooseclothesgalore.com. I try to remember to dress the goose up for all the big holidays. Every time I dress up the goose, I think about my grandma.

Since WCK was born, photos with the goose have become a big family tradition. When WCK turned one year old, I bought a special birthday outfit for the goose. We took her picture with the goose in the birthday outfit on every birthday. Every year on Halloween, I would dress the goose as a vampire and take a photo of WCK next to the goose in her Halloween costume. We even have a photo of a tiny, two-month old WCK in her baptismal gown, and the goose is dressed as a nun. (My grandma called this outfit "The Holy Goose").

Last fall, I bought the apple outfit, planning to take a photo of WCK with the apple on every first day of school until she graduates from high school or becomes annoyed with me.

NOW MY GOOSE IS GONE. Who would do this? Who? That thing is solid concrete and probably weighs about 80 pounds, so they probably made a big effort to steal it. Sure, I can -- and probably will -- get another goose, but it won't be my grandma's goose. It won't be the same.

WCK was devastated. She cried for a lot of the morning. She insisted that we go for a walk though the neighborhood to look for the goose. I filed a police report and e-mailed the Neighborhood Watch Lady, but I'm not sure what good it will do. I feel like Pee Wee when his bike got stolen. I believe the Soviets are involved.

My only hope is that it's part of some kind of whimsical prank, that someday we'll get a Polaroid of the goose, say, in front of the Great Wall of China, and then he/she will be returned in time for WCK to pose with the apple again before school starts.

Happy travels, goose. Happy travels.