Flat Kyle Goes to Florida

November 2012

Flat Kyle arrived at my house in High Springs, Florida by mail on Election Day, November 6, 2012. I pulled him from his envelope and he looked to be in pretty good shape for someone who was flattened and folded and mailed 791 miles from his home. Thanks go out to the United States Postal Service for handling him with care.

My name is also Stanley, people call me Stan, and Kyle Kellerman is my great-nephew. I once assisted in another Flat Stanley project with another great-nephew of mine so I was already familiar with the story. I decided Flat Kyle needed to experience life in an office.

Wednesday was a work day, so Flat Kyle accompanied me to Gainesville where I work in the Alachua County Property Appraiser’s office. Gainesville is in the North Central part of Florida and has a mild climate. It’s hot in the summer which runs essentially from May through October. This being November, the temperatures have dropped some and it can get pretty chilly at night although nowhere near what the weather does in Illinois. The drive from High Springs where I live to Gainesville is 24 miles and takes us about 40 minutes to get there.

Flat Kyle was accepted readily by my co-workers and everyone was happy to pose with him in various ways. He met a lot of people and had an enjoyable day following me around the office.

Come evening, Flat Kyle was ready for some relaxation. We watched TV, rode a stationary bike, ate some donuts and then it was bedtime. I think Flat Kyle got a good night’s sleep on my waterbed.

We were just two days from Gator Homecoming, which is a big, big event in town. The University of Florida is located in Gainesville and Homecoming is celebrated by the entire area. Gator fans say, “If you’re not a Gator, you’re Gator Bait”!

My friend and co-worker Colleen said she would like to take him with her for the weekend festivities and Flat Kyle was eager to join her. They shopped for snack, watched the parade, enjoyed some comedy and music at Gator Growl and finally went to a very, very close game, the Gators won, at The Swamp, which is the nickname for the football field.

So Flat Kyle spent the four day weekend with Colleen and got to meet her family and friends and experience the fun of a College Football game which can be very exhilarating. He also got his very own Florida Gator football jersey and he is sporting the number 15, which was worn by the Gators former quarterback and Heisman Trophy winning Tim Tebow who now plays professionally for the New York Jets.

Flat Kyle was tired from his weekend so he stayed at my home for a couple days to relax while I went to work.

When the weekend comes again, it is playtime for Flat Kyle. I introduced Flat Kyle to various activities around my house. We shot some pool, hung with a fake Cardinal, fell in a hole, climbed a tree, played with a ball, got on the TV, lay on a Gator rug, played some darts, did not play golf and just hung out on the porch/game room.

I think Kyle had a pretty good time in Florida. He should come back in the spring time because nowhere is as nice as Florida in the spring. Well, maybe Hawaii. And summertime is the best.

Farewell to you Flat Kyle. I’m glad you came and I hope to see you again someday. Have a safe trip back to the cold in Illinois. Use this link to view me on the Web.

Stan Fisk

High Springs FL 32643

http://stanfisk.com/Stan/FlatKyleGoesToFlorida/index.html