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Flat ShelleyA Pen Pal Paper Doll Travels...First, my greatest apologies to Bob and whomever created tje "Stanley Lambchop" or "Flat Stanley" paper doll. I have changed the name on this page, to fit with Female Pals -- thus Shelley, the Pen Pal Paper Doll! Shelley is the name and letter writing is the game -- this teacher had a great project for her class - check out how Granny Margaret hosted "Stanley" (a.k.a. Shelley) for a week! Thank you Bob! I hope some online teachers find this article to use for their own classes!
By Bob Burdick, GA
One of my earlier columns embraced “Writing’s Unexpected Rewards,” an article written to demonstrate the surprising and sometimes far-reaching results of our communication. This works with all writing, from pen pal letters to published articles, and the unexpected reward is when learning that something we have written has pleased, inspired, or lifted the spirits of another. Here’s how the concept played out for a close friend of mine. An adage states there are two sides to every story, and the not-so-nice side of this one began a year ago when my friend, Margaret, revealed she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. This news was devastating, but I knew she was a fighter, not a defeatist. Physical exercise had long worked to keep bodies in shape, but could the principle work as a tool against this debilitating disease? It couldn’t hurt, and knowing the medical community was doing all within its power on her behalf, I suggested she try my favorite mental exercise: writing. She said she’d think about it. A few weeks later I received a phone call before finishing my first cup of morning coffee. Experience said that a call at this time of day was a sure sign of trouble, so, braced for the worst, I picked up the phone. My worry was for naught. It was Margaret, bubbling with excitement, not trouble, as she’d just written a letter to her great granddaughter, Ali, an elementary schoolchild in Indiana. “You’ve written a letter this early in the morning?”
“Actually,” she said, “I began at 4 a.m.” When I asked why, she said Ali’s teacher had sent an envelope containing a letter of introduction and a cardboard cutout of Stanley Lambchop. The essence was that Ali had selected her Special Granny to receive Mr. Lambchop, a debonair little guy who earned the nickname “Flat Stanley” after a bulletin board fell on him while sleeping in class. Ali asked that Granny host Stanley for a week and then write back about the experience. Other students in the class were doing the same, and when all the letters were returned, they’d place colorful pins in a world map showing the extent of Flat Stanley’s travels and then read the letters before the class. With coffee in hand, I kicked back and listened as she read the letter. In the course of his week with Margaret, Flat Stanley had visited the mailbox where he arrived; learned how to work the electronic gate opener; took a small boat out to do some fishing in the pond behind Margaret’s home; stood spellbound watching where the Cartecay River raced through our little mountain town; ambled the river walk while marveling at the flags and stones dedicated to those who have served our nation; enjoyed lunch at Mike’s Place, helped Margaret’s husband, Bob, rake leaves; and even managed to see eleven deer grazing in the front yard one morning. To cap off his week of activity, Flat Stanley attended Sunday school and church with Margaret and Bob. Stopping for breath, Margaret said, “What do you think?” I told her the truth. “Ali will love it.” Since then, Margaret has read her letter before a group of writers at the Gilmer Arts and Heritage Association meeting, an event that garnered coverage in our local paper, and she has also received a thank-you letter from Ali explaining how much the class enjoyed the letter and photographs from her Special Granny. Writing’s unexpected rewards? You bet! Give it a try. Contact me at: bob@bobburdick.net Thank you. Bob Burdick is a retired general contractor. In 1980, after a career of building with wood, concrete, and steel, he turned to writing and began building with words. And while writing is an endeavor he enjoys, it’s also one he’s found to be as challenging as construction work.
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