So, What’s The Deal With Buddy?

Close To Paris

September 18, 2020

I have come to learn that the role of younger brothers is to confuse our not much older siblings. So it is with me and my attachment to Buddy the Elf.

Recently I tried to explain why I travel the USA with a Buddy standee to my sister Cindy and her husband Ken who were confused by Buddy.

In case you were wondering....

My kids and I have always enjoyed the movie “Elf.” One Christmas I saw a Buddy standee for sale and bought it. The next Christmas I bought the two other versions of the Buddy standee, and they became part of my standard Christmas decorations. To my friends, I

became the guy with the Buddy standees.  Also the guy who would have an “Elf” watching party at Christmastime along with Buddy Bingo -

bingo cards that used scenes/lines in the movie in lieu of numbers.

My affinity for Buddy?  His simpleness, his happiness, his extreme caring for others. I found those qualities to resonate with me, to

remind me not to get stuck in my own problems. That may be what I can do is help spread some happiness to others as Buddy does so easily and frequently.

Why do I travel the USA with a Buddy standee?  The initial idea was to avoid having to take selfies of me.  Who wants to see photos of me

standing by a road sign?  I also realized his excited look reflects how I feel about many of the sites I am taking photos of.  It is my

form of Flat Stanley

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flat_Stanley_Project).

Yes, it’s goofy.  But it is fun for me. And hopefully others get a smile out of seeing Buddy at different places around the country.