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Flat Stanley’s Odyssey

by Jonn Lilyea••8

Parachutecutie sends us a link to USAToday and the story of Brian Owens, Alan Orduna and Flat Stanley. Not our usual fare, but a god way to kick off your week;

10 years ago, in the painstaking scrawl of an 8-year-old, Alan Orduna [wrote a letter].

The Huntsville, Ark., boy, along with other students in Wood’s class, penned a note to accompany a paper cut-out modeled after the title character in the popular children’s book “Flat Stanley.” After being smashed by a bulletin board in his sleep, the book’s protagonist makes the most of his new 2-D state by mailing himself to friends.

Wood asked her students to send their Stanley cut-outs to relatives or friends, who would then take them on a journey and detail the characters’ exploits in a letter back.

Alan didn’t have a friend in mind — or at least not one who would take Stanley on an adventure worthy of a third-grader’s imagination. So, Wood sent Alan’s packet off to an Army unit stationed in Baghdad and asked Alan to wait.

Click over to the link above and read the rest, it’s a long story but worth your while. Trust me.

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8 thoughts on “Flat Stanley’s Odyssey”

  1. I had a Flat Stanley sent to me in Mosul Iraq. Took him on a couple of patrols and snapped a few pictures !

  5. My flat Stanley became an object lesson when he ran out in front of the firing line and got stuck to a target.

  6. Jonn I have several nieces and nephews. I have done so many Flat Stanley’s I could do them in my sleep. But man those kids get a kick out it.

    Enigma4you, now that’s just mean 😀 …funny as HELL…but holes in Flat Stanley? I’ll have to remember to try that on my next FS go around!! LMAO 😀 😀

  8. I had Flat Stanley with me in Fairbanks a few years ago. We were teaching a Stryker class to some soon-to-deploy Soldiers at Ft Wainwright. Flat Stanley was in my copy of the POI, which was given by my partner to a Staff NCO. I had to type up a letter about how Flat Stanley want to go to the Stan with the boys and wasn’t coming home to Michigan after all.

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