On that day in 1903, fourteen-year-old Joseph Michtoms life changed irrevocably when his parentsRussian immigrantscreated the first teddy bear. No longer did the Michtoms gather family and friends around the kitchen table to talk. No longer was Joseph at leisure to play stickball with the guys. No longer were Joseph and his book-loving sister free from watching their pesky two-year-old brother. Nowwhen it was summer vacation and more than anything Joseph wanted to experience the thrill, the grandeur, the electricity of Coney IslandJoseph worked. And complained. And fell in and out of love. And argued. And hoped that everything would go back to how it used to be. All the while no one let him forget that he was lucky.
