Bobby's English Hot Dog Party

Sent to me in an eBay alert last night, and it makes me super happy.  I tell you guys what, you CAN still find good Bobby stuff every so often if you really look for it....

Any of you who were once a part of the Bobby Driscoll Yahoo Group know that there once existed an entire set of these.  This was one, there was one of them all sitting around eating hot dogs, and then there was one of Bobby holding up something that looked quite a bit like a rat -- but I surely hope wasn't -- for the other kids to look at. 

So this wasn't an entirely new picture, but when one reads the caption, that's when the feels come in:

It certainly occurred to me that this could have been a publicity thing Bobby was required to do.  But then I recall all the articles in which he talked about wanting a normal childhood, which usually was accompanied by a statement about how lonely he was and how much he wanted friends... and thought it quite possibly could have been his idea, or he at least might have been excited about it.  I feel I've heard alot, over the past couple years, about Bobby's "friends" and it always seemed that there were alot of them, or at least alot of people who liked him and considered themselves to be.  When one looks at his grueling schedule, however, it becomes apparent that the problem was probably more that he didn't get to spend adequate time with them than that he wasn't able to find them in the first place.  By accounts, Bobby was a very friendly child who loved to play with and spend time with other kids when he could, which wasn't much.  That's why I think I felt so sorry about his childhood all over again...

I was out with unsuspecting friends when I saved these images in between conversations and sent them to my Mom, saying to her, "Awww, read those.  He always wanted friends.... everywhere he went he gathered them up like treasures."

Of course my Mom, with the patience of a saint but no understanding of my whole Bobby Driscoll Thing responded, "That's sweet, babe."

"No, it wasn't, it was sad!"

"Right, yes, it was."

Gotta love how I continue to engage her about this stuff and she continues to try to listen even though she probably wants to say things like "You've already told me that," or "Some of us have real things to do," or "How old are you again?"

Anyway, I digress.  I've mentioned before how much Bobby was said to have loved his whole England experience -- and maybe this was partially why, as for this one night, he might have been able to be a kid.  That is, unless he had photographers constantly saying "That's it, now turn a little to the left," or "Let's get one of you biting into your hot dog" or "Smile bigger!"  But his grace with all that has repeatedly been made apparent, so even if he had to endure a little of the forced stuff, something tells me he still had fun that night.