Flat Stanley - My New Best Buddy

For the last two weeks I have had a new best buddy, Flat Stanley. Flat Stanley came to me from Mrs. Teskey’s class at Oxbow Community School where my niece Lynn attends. Flat Stanley is a book character and has become a well know project in schools around the world. Mrs. Teskey’s class is currently comparing their community to regions of the country and as part of that they send someone a Flat Stanley and ask that you spend some time with him and let him get to know what it is like where you live, describing the differences in the weather, geography and other community life.

Stanley arrived a couple of weeks ago while I was out of town, but once we met we have been constant companions, he has ridden around with me in my coat pocket all but one day when he went to work with Kyle. As I wrote the teacher this morning it was so much fun for both Kyle and I to participate in this project, it made us think of all the things we are blessed with living out here in the great Northwest.

While Flat Stanley was with us he went to work, he stopped at Starbucks, he saw the mountains, including the huge amount of snow at Snoqualmie pass, he rode on a ferry, he crossed the 520 floating bridge, he crossed the Deception Pass Bridge, he went to the Space Needle and Harbor Island. He saw the Hyak Ferry in dry-dock and he even went in to the meat locker at Savannah Meats. While Stanley was with us I taught him how to play the guitar and he was on stage this past Saturday night as the band played.

I will miss Flat Stanley, he helped me to see all that I tend to take for granted each day with new eyes of exploration. Thank you Mrs. Teskey’s class.