In the summer of 1964, Charles Finster and Andrew Pickles were each seven years old. Stuart Pickles was five.

One fateful day, Chas was taken to the Pickles' residence for a playdate with Stu and Drew when he heard a scream! And as soon as Chas entered Stu's room, he saw Stu rummaging through the room looking for his blanket.

"Where is it?" cried Stu. "It's gotta be somewhere in the house!"

Chas saw Stu look everywhere: in his own room, in Drew's room, in the laundry room, even in the kitchen. But poor Stu just couldn't find his blanket.

And as Stu began to cry, Chas approached the purple-haired boy in an attempt to comfort him.

"Where's my blanket?!" sobbed Stu.

"Hey, hey, it's okay, Stu," said Chas quietly. "You're gonna be okay."

Presently, Drew entered the room to sneer at Stu and Chas, "What's the matter, Stuie?"

Stu glared at Drew and shouted, "I need my blanket!"

"Well, your blanket is in the wash!"

"The wash?!"

Stu was taken aback, and he started to quiver in Chas' arms as he stammered, "I'll lose my mind before this day is over!"

"Try not to think about it," said Chas calmly.

"I can't help thinking about it!" cried Stu. "I'm only human! Oh, how I hate Mondays!"

"What happens on Mondays?" asked Chas.

"Didn't you notice?" Drew replied. "Every Monday, our mom does the wash, and Stu's blanket is among the laundry in the wash."

Chas sighed, and he said to Stu, "Relax."

Stu replied, "How can I relax with my blanket in the wash? Why does mom have to wash it anyway? It wasn't even that dirty! I gotta have that blanket!"

Drew and Chas looked at each other. Being older than Stu, it was their responsibility to act as his older brothers, although Chas did a much better job at it that Drew.

"What are we gonna do?" asked Drew.

Chas replied, "We gotta go to the laundry room, to see how Stu's blanket is doing."

"You're a wild one, Finster," sighed Drew as he followed Chas to the laundry room.

In the laundry room, Chas and Drew saw that the blanket was in the dryer.

"Looks like Stu's blanket's in the dryer," said Chas.

"No, duh," Drew replied. "And it'd better be done soon. I don't think Stu will last much longer."

Meanwhile, in the living room, Stu felt himself losing control of his life. He cried out, "I can't breathe! The walls are closing in on me! I'm getting weak!" And he gasped, "Help me! Somebody help me!" And he let out a great big scream that could be heard by Chas and Drew, as well as Lou and Trixie, both of whom came rushing in.

"Don't worry, Stuie," said Trixie as she held her sobbing younger son. "Your blanket will be out of the dryer in a moment."

And indeed, it was done. At that moment, Chas opened the dryer so Drew could find the blanket among the laundry.

As Drew dug through the laundry, he said to himself, "No. No. No. No. Stu's blanket's gotta be in there somewhere."

"Um, Drew," said Chas. "How long is it gonna take?"

"A-ha! Got it!" cried Drew as he held up Stu's red blanket, now crisp and clean.

Presently, Drew ran for the living room, where Stu was liable to crack. "Hold on! Here it comes!" shouted Drew as he threw the blanket to Stu. "From the washer to the dryer to you!"

"SAVED!" Stu shouted with joy as he grabbed the blanket, held it close to his face, and let out a deep, contented sigh.

Lou, Trixie, Chas, and Drew all watched this with warmed hearts.

Then, Chas asked Drew, "You think he'll be all right now?"

Drew replied, "Yeah, I guess so. In medical circles, it's known as the application of a spiritual tourniquet."

Chas never understood what Drew meant by that, but he would always know that young Stu found security in his red blanket.