Looking for a Catamaran Cruising Blog?

If you found this blog via a link from a cruising site ~ we did cruise Mexico on our Ocean 49 cat for a season. See the first text box on the right for links to our preparations, trip down Baja, life in Mexico, cruising and trip back up to SoCal. Unfortunately we are back to the grind in the USA...

Saturday, January 30, 2010

The End of Flat Stanley...

So long story.
"FS" as we call him in the fam, is a done deal.
Poor FS, no more exploring the world, but what a life he led.
So here is the abbreviated long story (my blog, can do what I want).
We all know my sweet sister, Donna passed away a little over 4 years ago, leaving 3 beautiful girls under the age of 18.
The youngest, Evann who was 8 at the time did a school project a few months after her mommy passed away.
The kids read a book about "Flat Stanley".
See link ~ not my story.
So out of all thousand of her aunts and uncles she selects ME to mail her FS to.
I am supposed to take him places, show him the ropes, take pics, take notes and mail him back to her.
Ok, we take him to Pismo Beach.

We take him to Avila Beach.

We send him on a plane with a pilot friend to the East Coast and El Salvador.

We take him to a friend's house.

We take him all over.

We take him to Mexico.






This is where I fail at being a good aunt.
We try to take him from Mexico back to the USA.
Well we do take him from Mexico back to the USA.
We just don't check him back through immigration properly.
In fact we don't remove him from the plane.Damn seat back pockets.
We forget him on the plane.
I forget him on the plane.
Flying waitress will not allow me back on the plane to check the damn seat back pocket.
Flying waitress will not allow me to go through the trash as they remove it from the plane.
Me?
Sick to my stomach.
Here this 8 year old entrusted me, the aunt who watched her being born by c-section at 3 am, with FS and I leave him in the damn seat back pocket on a stupid plane.
So... what to do?
By the time I got home from LAX I had it all figured out.
Wrote Evann a long letter about all of Flat Stanley's travels and adventures.
Included loads of pictures.
Except these.
I did not include these pictures.



For obvious reasons.

Wrote that FS made a big decision on that plane.
The decision to see the world.
Travel.
Fly.
Bus.
Sail.
Hike.
See the world.
And that FS would mail postcards to her from all of his stops.
So emailed everyone I knew in the world asking for postcards out of their drawers, out of their garages, out of whereever they were.
And within days I had a mailbox full of blank postcards.
FS was on his way.
Started in Ventura.
Went to Spain.
England.
Montana.
Florida.
Tibet.
Nepal.
India.
Bought postcards in thrift stores and antique stores.
Wisconsin.
New York.
Costa Rica.
Peru.
Oregon.
Started buying postcards on ebay.
France.
Scotland.
Canada.
New Orleans.
Key West.
Miami.
Washington.
Caribbean.
Hawaii.
Maine.
Countries I had never heard of.
Nova Scotia.
Brazil.
Argentina.
Arizona.
Nevada
Germany.
Italy.
Belgium.
Spain.
Pretty much everywhere.
Went there.
Saw that.

So after about 3 years of me researching places and writing postcards full of amusing facts and amazing places I was getting tired.
My hand was getting tired.

I wanted to make an old man paper doll and mail him back.
Long beard.
Long hair.
Wrinkles.
Worn out jeans.
Faded UCLA sweatshirt.


But instead I wrapped up this giant box of written and un-written postcards and gave them to Evann for Christmas.


Thanks to all of our wonderful friends with the postcard help :)

7 comments:

1st Mate said...

What you did was so much more creative and wonderful, involving all those friends and exotic places, than just handing FS back to her after one measly trip to Mexico. You done good, girl.

judith said...

That was a great idea! I'll keep you on the side of the list of who not to leave loose children with. You'll be over there with Maria and Jolea, y'all try to keep the party at a low rumble.

Suzie said...

All I can say, Heather, is "That's too cool!". I am happy to say that I helped with the post cards, I just didn't realize it was because FS decided to adventure without you! What a special aunt you are!

Jennifer said...

You forgot to mention how your wonderful favorite oldest niece took over sending them for you when you went to Mexico. I still have some here that I need to take to Evann.

"Seattle" Heather said...

You are such a cool Aunt! :) What a touching story! I almost teared up...

Lucy Coltrane said...

Heather, stories like these reveals who you really are inside and why we love you so much. I, like Suzie sent postcards just because you asked me. I never really knew why until now. Had I known, I would have excerted a LOT more effort finding more exotic ones to send. Luv you Girl

Nishant said...

That was a great idea!

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