Most folks have heard of the “Where’s Waldo?” books where readers try to find Waldo in a picture; it’s kind of like of puzzle and my children enjoyed the books/concept. In the original book, “Waldo” travels to ordinary destinations like the beach, the ski slopes and the zoo. I’ve always enjoyed the zoo.
There are pictures of crowds of people and the object is to simply find Waldo in the crowd. It’s actually quite fun and can keep children occupied for long periods of time. Each of these destinations has a postcard to the reader from Waldo, who tells you what is going on and a little about his destination.
Waldo sets out on his journey with 12 items that are supposed to help him on his journey through the book and to various places. He carries a walking stick, kettle, mallet, cup, backpack, sleeping bag, binoculars, camera, snorkel, belt, bag and shovel. Waldo manages to lose these things everywhere he goes and he is continually asking you/the reader to help the things he leaves behind.
This is where I come in. Recently, I traveled with my son to Nashville, Tennessee to where he will be attending college in the fall. After a long drive, the first place we stopped was to see my oldest daughter who lives and works in Nashville and was waiting to see us.
It wasn’t a bad drive, but it was particularly long and anytime we slowed down, our two dogs that traveled with us, thought we were there and commenced barking and pressing their noses against the car windows. After about ten hours, a lot of barking and a few stops to eat and wet on bushes, we arrived at my daughter’s third floor apartment in Nashville.
She was happy to see us and the dogs were happy to see her. After talking a bit, I noted, “Oh, I brought some things for you, I’ll go down to the car and get them.” Still in a daze from the long drive, I wandered down the stairs and got a bag of drinking glasses, a t-shirt and some dried apples and watermelon I had made her in my dehydrator. Dried watermelon (or "Watermelon Jerky") is to die for if you like watermelon.
I looked around outside at the scenery, got the bags out of the car and went back up to her apartment. After opening the door to the apartment, I went in and put the bags on the kitchen counter. No, I didn’t knock, I just opened the door and went on in. It was my daughter’s apartment, I paid for her to go to college, I changed her diapers, I am proud of her. So, I just opened the door and went on in.
After putting the stuff on the kitchen counter, I looked over on the sofa at the young pretty brunette girl sitting on the sofa. She said, “Can I help you?” She quickly followed with, “I think you are in the wrong place.”
Good grief, this was my “Where’s Waldo” moment… I wasn’t worried about the Nashville police coming to get me, I simply said, “You know, you’re right, I am in the wrong place.” Another girl stuck her head out from behind a door and started laughing at me.
I apologized and apologized and apologized and finally asked, “Are you sure you don’t want some glasses and a t-shirt from Williamsburg, Virginia? Maybe some dried apples? Have you ever tried dried watermelon?”
The girls just laughed and started talking to me. They actually grew up an hour away from where I live in Virginia and turned out to be very nice (and understanding).
Gathering up my daughter’s gifts, I figured out I had missed my daughter’s apartment by a floor and that I was at a point in my life where young women were amused by an absent minded professor wandering into their apartment, rather than scared.
When we left about 15 minutes later with my daughter, on my way down, I noticed my new friends had shut their main door (in addition to their storm door), so that middle aged men couldn’t “come on in.”
So Waldo has nothing on me, and there’s no reason trying to find him when I don’t even know where I am. However, I’m pretty sure I’m happy and that dried watermelon is good.
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Cranks My Tractor
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I'm BN Heard and I like semicolons, dogs and watermelon, even without the water...
Come see me in Vienna, Virginia at Jammin Java on Saturday, May 28th when I take on 9 of the other best storytellers around in Better Said Than Done's 5th Year Anniversary Show and Contest.
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