The Story of Waldo

Once upon a time, there was a woman named Debbi Randall. She was happily married to a wonderful man named Kelly and they had six children: Tricia, Rachel, David, Nicholas, Brian, and Emily.

Debbi was famous for her astounding birthday cake creations. Each birthday, she’d contrive, construct, and decorate a unique themed dessert to match and delight the birthday boy or girl. The cake she planned for young David’s birthday that legendary April morning, would forever be a legend in the Randall family household.

It was a simple bunt cake, but strategically planted in the middle was a small Waldo figurine. Dressed up in his classic red and white striped sweater and hat, he waited in the center of the cake, encompassed by frosting, for an eager party guest to find him. And find him they did.

Not so long after that, David slumped through the garage door, discouraged after having a bad day. Debbi wondered, in the way mothers typically do, how she could bring a smile back to her son’s face. With a snicker, she picked up Waldo and hid him in an unsuspecting place. Satisfied with her plan, she called to David.

“Oh, Dave!” She chimed, “There’s something special for you in the shower!”

“What is it?” David asked, confused and set aback.

“You’ll just have to look and see what you find!” Debbi giggled.

Well, what would you do if you found Waldo hiding under a washcloth in the shower? It was an immediate success, and soon Waldo began to appear in strange places: hanging down from the front door, in the washer, in drawers, just about anywhere. The person who found him got to hide him next.

But the family started to grow and spread. The siblings started to go off to college and travel the world. Did Waldo retire? Of course not! Waldo visited Tricia at a girl’s camp and in the Czech Republic. He travelled to Peru to help David on his mission in Lima. He went on a cruise with Debbi and Kelly and all the way to Argentina to see Brian. Emily even had him for a while in China. He currently rests with her at Walt Disney World, enjoying the magic and the pixie dust. Where will he go next? Will the legend of Waldo continue on? Will he and the Randall family live happily ever after? Yes. Yes they will.

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Safari photos

Step #26-- 99 times out of 100, it's not you, but once it a while...

...it is. Today I had a camera crew get on my truck. MY TRUCK. Out of the 35-ish trucks that were in rotation at that particular moment in time, I was the lucky truck. The crew was from the Travel Channel. One of those cooking channel chefs got on board with his family along with three cameras (one on his family, one on the animals, and one at the front of the truck), one of my managers, a coordinator, and several people from Animal Programs. I turned off my microphone and drove slowly through the ride path, allowing them to see, film, and react to the animals. It'll probably end up being a one-minute clip on some Travel Channel TV show, but it was all filmed on MY TRUCK! Not bad for a little college program safari driver.

Step #25 -- Find moments to be a hero

Today at work, there was a random sprinkler by base, next to the ride path that was going around in slow circles: getting people wet, spraying out on the ride path, causing confusion, and basically wreaking havoc. I was standing there, waiting for my truck, avoiding the rotating water hose, when a driver brought his truck-load of guests right into the line of fire. I didn't think anything of it at first, but as the sprinkler started to make its way towards the guests I started to yell variations of "take cover! Watch out! It's coming!" The guests suddenly became aware of their situation. The truck couldn't move and neither could the guests. I knew those if those people got wet, our managers would be handing out "no strings attached" cards and dealing with livid people all day. As guests started to pile on one another on the opposite side of the truck, I knew I needed to take action. So without really thinking, I ran up and shoved my hand in front of the sprinkler, stopping the water from hitting the guests. It shot upwards towards the sky and back at me like a fan. Fortunately, I didn't get as wet as I thought I might. Once the sprinkler rotation had moved on, I removed my hand. The guests and my fellow cast members were all shocked that I'd done such a thing. For me, it was almost a reflex. The guests showered me with thanks as they passed by and my co-workers gave me a few pats on the back. Frankie and Ashton gave me Guest Service Fanatic cards for it. It made me feel fantastic to do that little bit of service...because it really wasn't a big thing. I just like to think that I made somebody's vacation just that much better. Ordinary people don't get very many chances to be heroic, and like I said, it really wasn't a big deal, but to that lady in the fifth row, who was finally having a good hair day, it was heroic, and I'm just happy I was able to spare her the frustration of an unnecessary frizz.

Step #24-- It happens

I went to the beach today and even though I had a fantastic time, tragedy stuck shortly after we departed. About ten minutes from the beach, I realized that my bag was not in the car with us...my bag that had my id, my housing id, my debit card, my phone, and my camera. We turned around and zoomed back to the beach. Katelin, the one and only, called ahead to have a waitress at a near by establishment check for my bag. They were able to find it and hold it for me, but by the time I got there, someone had stolen my camera. Everything else was there, but the camera was gone. So I was lucky, but unlucky. Basically, bad things happen and we have to deal with them. So I'm now camera-less--I lost some fun pictures from the beach--but I'll always have the memories, and that's what counts.

Step #23-- Try new things

This is a Kitchen Sink from "Beaches 'n Cream," a diner located at the Beach Club resort. This is the second one of these puppies I've had while here in Florida. We split it amongst seven of us and there was plenty to go round. It includes 8 scoops of ice cream (3 chocolate, 2 strawberry, 2 vanilla, 1 mint chocolate chip), a whole can of whipped cream, and every topping they've got (candy bars, angel food cake, oreos, fudge, carmel, peanut butter, etc, etc) It is delicious even if it's a little scary. I've been trying new things lately: new foods, new rides, and new perspectives. I've come to realize that the older I get, and the more aware I am of time as it passes, the faster it goes. When I come to the end of my life, I want to be able to look back on all the things I've done and be pleased with what I see. I'm all about experiencing new things. Kitchen sink? Check. What's next?