14/10/2025
Most of Harpo’s have a story behind them, as I only bought a few of them to make videos about specific subjects. Doing a series of these stories was one of the many great ideas I didn’t follow through on while he was alive.
But when I got served a p**p emoji video as a memory this morning, the caption turned into the first entry in a book of stuffy . I suppose it’s appropriate that it begins with the darkest one, which speaks to the darkness that has always kept me from sharing more than a fraction of the joy that was Harpo with you.
It was almost 4000 characters, so the full post is linked to the first Story under Stuffy Lore highlights. The rest will be both shorter and sweeter.
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I started encouraging Harpo to bring it to me. He would pick it up, only to conclude that it was too awkward, & abandon the enterprise. But I kept including it in the stuffy piles, & periodically spent a few minutes actively working on it with him. I was determined to wring some small amount of joy out of the trauma of that terrible time.
Harpo’s stuffy skills grew steadily over the next few months. I started finding the p**p pillow a few inches from where I’d left it, then a few feet. Alas, I did not actually get to see him carry it the first time he actually brought it. But after a year of periodically including it in piles to see if he’d do it on his own, working with him for a little while when he didn’t, & then putting it away again before he got annoyed & frustrated, I finally did.
