And a child shall lead them
Recently, I received a request from my grandnephew who lives in Florida to help him by participating in the Flat Stanley Project. The story goes that a little boy named Stanley was flattened when a blackboard fell on him. He asks his friends and relatives to take him about. School children throughout the globe are given the task of making a drawing of themselves, in my nephew's case, made of construction paper. They name their likeness "Flat ____" and mail him/her to friends and relatives asking their participation. My nephew's name is Brandon, so I was mailed Flat Brandon along with instructions as to my part in helping him learn about his state, others states (I live in Texas), etc. I and my husband were to take Flat Brandon (hereafter referred to as FB) on our outings taking pictures of him and writing an essay as to his activity depicted in the picture. We were to return it to the child who along with his fellow classmates would share pictures and stories about where their "flat" counterpart had visited.
I was quite excited over the project and immediately began to plan an itinerary for FB. Living in Texas, I wanted to capture the flavor of my state, at least what people think of when they think of Texas. I first thought of a visit to a ranch and the first ranch that came to my mind was Southfork Ranch, featured in the long, worldwide popular TV series "Dallas". However, I decided a real ranch might be more age appropriate for a first grander. Actually, I must admit I was the one wanting to make the tour and was simply using FB as an excuse for in my mid forties I had a somewhat teenage-like crush on J.R.
He allowed me to fantasize what it would be like to be ruthless, powerful, and rich every Friday night.
But I digress. Back to the FB adventure. I found a couple of cooperative longhorn cattle, beautiful specimens, on the other side of a strong iron pipe fence from me along a country road. I taped (scotch tape that is) FB to the fence and just as I planned, natural curiosity placed the cattle right beside FB as though he were quite the accomplished cowpoke.
Another stop on our itinerary took us to a dude ranch. I was not looking forward to actually going inside and explaining to the personnel about my wanting to have basically a "paper doll" play cowboy and ride one of their horses while I took his picture.
Good fortune was with me yet once again for there were about six of their horses in a pasture near the road before going through the entrance to the dude ranch. And so FB was once again taped in near horseback riding position, and again it was due to natural curiosity. However, either the horses were more hungry than curious than the longhorns for they almost ate FB.
Having barely escaped with his pasted on cowboy hat and boots intact, we were ready for the next item on my list; a salt mine. Morton Salt has a plant in Grand Saline which is near where I live. So, later that day, my husband and I took FB to the salt mine. Now I knew people were no longer allowed to tour the mine for safety reasons; but, I thought FB could maybe hitch a ride down into the mine with one of the workers. After talking with the very nice and understanding receptionist and then to the Human Relations Manager, who also is interested in relations with young people even if they are flat, very pleasantly agreed that we could leave FB with him and he would see to it that FB would get to go below and have his picture taken. And thus it happened that FB descended 750 feet below the surface of the earth into a salt mine. His fellow miners equipped him according to federal safety regulations with a hard hat, boots, safety goggles, and a miner's light attached to his hat. FB ascended about 10:30 a.m. the next day, for he had spent the night at the mine, though I was assured as his Aunt that he would not be left down below nor left alone. He was waiting for me to be picked up in the lobby hanging out with the receptionist.
My husband and I spent two entire days driving over a hundred miles taking many pictures of FB. But the most amazing thing was how the representation of a little boy's presence, encouraged us for two whole days to view this world of ours through the eyes of a youngster. We were excited, enthusiastic, curious, and even childishly innocent again (how else could a grown woman with a straight face ask the supervisor of a major company to "do what?").
In the brief span of two days, driving on back country roads we had driven hundreds of times before, we stopped here and there and saw things we'd not noticed before. It was like everything was suddenly in slow motion.
And you know, FB, you may have learned something about Texas, at least the part we showed you, but we learned something of such greater wisdom and so much more important. Through your presence in the vehicle, we entered a "let's play like" place again; life from your youthful perspective. And you know what else FB, we had a blast!
Thank you FB. We may just make it a practice to enter the world of pretend, fantasy, and imagination quite often.
I was quite excited over the project and immediately began to plan an itinerary for FB. Living in Texas, I wanted to capture the flavor of my state, at least what people think of when they think of Texas. I first thought of a visit to a ranch and the first ranch that came to my mind was Southfork Ranch, featured in the long, worldwide popular TV series "Dallas". However, I decided a real ranch might be more age appropriate for a first grander. Actually, I must admit I was the one wanting to make the tour and was simply using FB as an excuse for in my mid forties I had a somewhat teenage-like crush on J.R.
He allowed me to fantasize what it would be like to be ruthless, powerful, and rich every Friday night.
But I digress. Back to the FB adventure. I found a couple of cooperative longhorn cattle, beautiful specimens, on the other side of a strong iron pipe fence from me along a country road. I taped (scotch tape that is) FB to the fence and just as I planned, natural curiosity placed the cattle right beside FB as though he were quite the accomplished cowpoke.
Another stop on our itinerary took us to a dude ranch. I was not looking forward to actually going inside and explaining to the personnel about my wanting to have basically a "paper doll" play cowboy and ride one of their horses while I took his picture.
Good fortune was with me yet once again for there were about six of their horses in a pasture near the road before going through the entrance to the dude ranch. And so FB was once again taped in near horseback riding position, and again it was due to natural curiosity. However, either the horses were more hungry than curious than the longhorns for they almost ate FB.
Having barely escaped with his pasted on cowboy hat and boots intact, we were ready for the next item on my list; a salt mine. Morton Salt has a plant in Grand Saline which is near where I live. So, later that day, my husband and I took FB to the salt mine. Now I knew people were no longer allowed to tour the mine for safety reasons; but, I thought FB could maybe hitch a ride down into the mine with one of the workers. After talking with the very nice and understanding receptionist and then to the Human Relations Manager, who also is interested in relations with young people even if they are flat, very pleasantly agreed that we could leave FB with him and he would see to it that FB would get to go below and have his picture taken. And thus it happened that FB descended 750 feet below the surface of the earth into a salt mine. His fellow miners equipped him according to federal safety regulations with a hard hat, boots, safety goggles, and a miner's light attached to his hat. FB ascended about 10:30 a.m. the next day, for he had spent the night at the mine, though I was assured as his Aunt that he would not be left down below nor left alone. He was waiting for me to be picked up in the lobby hanging out with the receptionist.
My husband and I spent two entire days driving over a hundred miles taking many pictures of FB. But the most amazing thing was how the representation of a little boy's presence, encouraged us for two whole days to view this world of ours through the eyes of a youngster. We were excited, enthusiastic, curious, and even childishly innocent again (how else could a grown woman with a straight face ask the supervisor of a major company to "do what?").
In the brief span of two days, driving on back country roads we had driven hundreds of times before, we stopped here and there and saw things we'd not noticed before. It was like everything was suddenly in slow motion.
And you know, FB, you may have learned something about Texas, at least the part we showed you, but we learned something of such greater wisdom and so much more important. Through your presence in the vehicle, we entered a "let's play like" place again; life from your youthful perspective. And you know what else FB, we had a blast!
Thank you FB. We may just make it a practice to enter the world of pretend, fantasy, and imagination quite often.
posted by Sandra | 7:54 PM
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