Garfield first came into my life when I was in HK. I received my furry friend then in 1989 but did not think much of it as Beng decided it would keep me company in a new land.
Whenever Beng visited me on weekends as a commuter, he would give me a Garfield.
I soon grew fond of Garfield as I liked his plastic eyes and always gave a good cuddle. Soon my bed filled with Garfields, as friends who visited me thought I liked Garfield and would seek out to provide me with a Garfield for any occasion I celebrated.
I bawled my eyes out in 1998 when the first Garfield I received from Beng, got left behind in Turkey. I did not have a photo of this Garfield and it meant the world to me as by then Beng had made a huge impact on my life. JL, KP and JC who were with me on that trip consoled me and said I was silly to offer up to USD300 for the driver to return to the hotel where I left him when I had already arrived in Ankara.
I left Turkey very sad. My mum then bought me this Garfield ( she was sweet to ensure that this Garfield measured larger than the tiny one to avoid being left behind) and he has been with me since then. 15 years now and raggedy with cataracts, Garfield has travelled with me faithfully to Hainan, Guang Zhou, Zhuhai, Macau, HK, Adelaide, Perth, Brighton, Stavanger, Malaysia, Batam – wherever I went, Garfield went.
Today my collection of Garfields is coming close to 475 collectibles. To me, each Garfield is precious as it comes with precious memories of the giver and the occasion it signified. I thank Jim Davis’ creativity for drawing Garfield and giving Garfield and Friends a name!
I can safely say I love Garfield, my huggable stuffed toy fan! Thank you Jim Davis!
Garfieldhug's Blog 
Aww…sweet story. Hugs
475! I’m so envious! I just got 10% of your collection!