Considering the amount of travel I do I almost feel like Stanley these days. Some of the planes I flew on last week seemed like mailboxes. Even in first class the Fokker 100, or whatever, rides like the name sounds. Say it with me, "Nice ride Fokker". Wedged into the bulkhead seat with my knees around my ears I wished I was Stanley. Nice and flat, I would have fit nicely into the mail slot of a seat I had from Chicago to Toronto.
Part of the fun of being an adult is rediscovering the fun of being a kid. One of my co-workers has a son who is in the middle of a Flat Stanley school project. I did notice the little guy stuffed into a briefcase a few weeks back but I never said anything. I mean I use crayons and glue sticks so who am I to question a paper doll?
Anywho on a recent business trip I was asked to snap a few pictures of Flat in the various places we were to visit.
This brought me back to when I first encountered Flat Stanley. I did remember the story of the boy who was so flat that he could be mailed to almost anyplace in the world. The story sparked my imagination because I could visit those places in my mind right along with Stanley.
I
really liked the Stanley and I wanted one. Using the power of modern
technology I skillfully cropped Stanley from a digital picture. Then I
carefully centered and colored corrected him then I sent him to the printer.
HA HA HA HA! (mad scientist laugh) Out came Stanley but wait.
NOOOOooooo! His color was way off. He looked almost, uhm,
Jamaican, Yes Jamaican Stanley was born from an experiment gone wrong.
The problem with Jamaican Stanley was that he would not photograph well.
I needed a clone that would look like the original when photographed.
So the new Stanley had to be a little lighter in tone. I couldn't bear
to shred the little guy so I added him to my fridge. I'll take him to
Reggae on The River next year to make it up to him. Cloning is
tricky business, maybe I should I leave it to the professionals? NAhhh!
Back to the computer I flew and after a few more color adjustments I had
him. I crossed my fingers and hit the print button. The printer
went so slow but it was looking good this time out. 
I called Alextasy for back up and off we went to introduce Stanley to San Francisco. He took over the car and as we careened through the busy streets I wondered if I had made a mistake. We ended up in the Haight Street area of the city and Stanley ducked into Amoeba Records and sold a huge pile of my CDs and DVDs to get some quick cash. Bastard! Next he met a local who was more than happy to sniff at Stan before he ran off to get pierced. I can't show the spot Stan chose to get holy with but even Alextasy blushed. Next Stan was off to the skate shop and then he hung with some local celebrities before sharing a bowl with granola with a tree hugger.
We
ended our adventure with Stan impressing Alextasy by helping her choose her
first computer. Stan showed her how to set up her PC and he even
shared his affection for Madonna. That was it! Stanley spent the
rest of the evening literally stuck to her. Surfing the web and
watching Madonna videos they made quite the couple. I think Stanley has a
place in the Leftcoastlove family. Saturday evening I am planning on taking
Stan to the Seal show at the Warfield. Check back as I'm
sure it will be fun to see Stan and Andy kickin' it freestyle. Indulge
your inner child and don't forget that we all need a little time to
play and use our imagination. It's the one thing that gets better as
you get older and it's also the one thing we all use the least as we get
older. Stanley and Jamaican Stanley have taught me lesson I'll keep
using.
Peace,
Sean