How it came about
This story began from real events
While away from home, my daughter gave me two teddy bears to keep me company, Bobby Bear and Waldo. I would call home everyday to hear her voice, but what do you say to a five year old? After the usual, "So, what'd you do today..." stuff, I found myself telling her that I caught the bears climbing into the fridge for some milk. There was a silence on the other end... "They're alive?" she asked. I now had her attention. What else could I say? "Yep!" With that one confession, I had uncovered the Secret Teddy Society. But this wasn't just about two young bears, this was about all teddy bears. The closer I looked at the unknown world, the more complex it got. Each bear had its own personality. I started to write about their secret world for children but when I asked serious questions, regarding consequences for your actions, I answered them honestly. I knew there must be an authority in the STS, someone or something that keeps order in the vast teddy society. If a teddy breaks the Code it's not just a stern look along with a finger pointing. No. There is a consequence - a punishment. The story took a different turn. I felt that this was now a story that expressed the human condition of emulation and influence on others.
Teddies learn from watching. People are the same. The interaction and love from a human is what brings a teddy to life. After that... the rest is up to you. We become our surroundings. Strong influences impact character. We are the example.
Loyalty, Truth and Family are the backbone of a teddy's existance but that doesn't mean that they stay that way.
Ballinger was raised by Louis Longley, a powerful and ruthless politician. Ballinger had watched Louis climb the political ladder, doing whatever was necessary to succeed. Not long after Senator Longely set his sights on the Presidency of the United States, Ballinger set his on the number one bear of the Secret Teddy Society. Power, greed and corruption had not only found its way into the teddy world but into the Teddy Council. This had never happened before.
This is where the story begins.
