Flat Stanley the Gnome Project

[Minneapolis Gnome]

15 Flat Stanley the Gnomes left St. Paul, MN to travel to IUOMA's members homes & are expected to begin arriving TODAY.  Photographs of their travels through Minnesota, North Dakota & Montana will appear on this Project Page as well as any photos/commentary on the project submitted by IUOMA members.  

BREAKING GNEWS ARTICLE

Published 12/2/2019, Gnome Weekly & Quarterly.

“Experimental therapy leads to inside views of paper envelopes for large group of SSS sufferers”

While some firmly believe that a Gnome becoming so rigid as to appear lifeless, even inanimate, is a natural ability Gnomes have developed over time to escape predation & oppression by larger animals & Humans, others blame a condition they call Stalk Still Syndrome (S.S.S.).  S.S.S. is described in the literature as a serious mental health condition with potentially dangerous outcomes which is brought on by lived trauma at the hands of larger animals & Humans or by witnessing a traumatizing event occur to another Gnome.  The danger often involves prolonged periods of exposure to the elements, the almost complete inability to communicate, missing out on life experience & mistreatment by creatures who do not understand that the individual Gnome is indeed a sentient, living being.  This can lead to a lack of empathy for the Gnome or remorse for physically or emotionally damaging the Gnome during an episode of SSS. 

One experimental therapy for SSS is called "Experiential Safe Facilitated Movement", carried out by taking the sufferer on a trip while ensuring the patient's absolute safety & comfort.  Their individual worth, sentient status & individuality is celebrated & affirmed by taking photographs or making artistic renderings of the Gnome in different places they visit & treating them with care and dignity.   

In pursuit of such a positive & possibly transformative experience, Flat Stanley the Gnome began a quiet road trip from MN through Stanley, North Dakota to MT on Saturday, 10/19/2019.  As word of this planned trip spread, an open invitation was made to other SSS sufferers to hitch a ride on the adventure, free of charge.  Requests for pick-ups along the trips' route flooded in from parties concerned about the welfare of individual Gnomes exhibiting signs of S.S.S.  Because many of these parties did not know the names of the individuals they were referring (due to lack of clear verbal communication from the individual Gnomes), Gnomes were referred to by the names of the towns they were picked up from along the route.     

Perceiving a positive benefit of the trip on the travelers, it was agreed that Flat Stanley and his friends should all continue their travel in a freer style & independent manner.  Each Flat Stanley is being provided with a specially designed, environmentally friendly envelope made from post-consumer waste to tuck into which they are free to address to wherever they chose to travel.  If non-communicative, the envelope is being addressed for the individual Gnome.  A private funder has volunteered to pay the postage & they will all set off on their individual journeys from the U.S. post office located in St. Paul, MN later today.  We wish them well!

[carl baker]

stanley, good luck!

please don't come here.

[Minneapolis Gnome]

Thanks, Carl!  We'll re-route your house guest ASAP! (LOL)

[1bmbphlc9wilp]

Awwwww! Gnome therapy. I never knew Rugby, ND was the geographic center of North America. Almost 500 miles from St. Paul, and so close to Canada. What a trip you must've taken! Bon voyage to the Flat Stanleys!

[Minneapolis Gnome]

Thank you, Res!  They filled out and their color REALLY improved during their October trip.  It kept improving while they stayed at the Hidden Urban Gnome Reserve & Sanctuary in Minneapolis.  They were looking great when they climbed into the post box, I have high hopes they'll reach their destinations safely!

[Minneapolis Gnome]

Flat Stanley the Gnome (Ray), is a painter from Ray, North Dakota, ...

[Minneapolis Gnome]

Flat Stanley the Gnome (Mel) was picked up in Melville, Minnesota along our route.  Mel is a painter who gained weight via a magnetic back and 6 sheets in his booklet-body made from a used business envelope.  He traveled via USPS to the best artist he knows of in Chicago, Illinois wearing a protective plastic covering to protect him from wet snow during his trip.

 

[Toni Hanner -- tonipoet]

Flat Stanley made it to Eugene, Oregon, almost to the Pacific Ocean. I stopped him before he went any further because I don't think he would benefit from a swim in our ice cold waters. He's resting up my table downstairs and demanding endless hot toddies and fruitcake. I never knew anybody who liked fruitcake so much. I've had to dig into my collection of "gifted" fruitcakes, most still in their original packaging, to keep him happy. Whew. Nevertheless I'm enjoying his company will let you know when he decides to move on.

[Minneapolis Gnome]

YASSSSS!!!!!  Thanks for letting us know that Flat Stanley the Gnome (Ross) arrived safely, Toni!  We're so relieved to hear he's there.  Sorry he's eating and drinking you out of house and home with the fruitcake and liquor.  Maybe he can work it off as a security guard in your house...or bookmark?  Fridge magnet?  Companionship?   Here's a picture from his trip and from the party at HUGRS afterwards.   

[1bmbphlc9wilp]

Drake o' the Flat Stanleys made it to the Gold Country! Being a ginger gnome with a name like Drake, he could be of Welsh extraction like a lot of the descendants of miners in this region.

He was very particular about keeping his map, so maybe he's on a quest!

<--- Welsh Fire Drake

[Minneapolis Gnome]

Awesome!!!  Everybody here at the Hidden Urban Gnome Reserve And Sanctuary is psyched that Drake made it safely and into such an awesome Humans home!!  You’re so the best, res!  Here’s a pic of him when he joined the trip and at HUGRS.  Thanks!  

[1bmbphlc9wilp]

I love it. He came so far! ❥

[1bmbphlc9wilp]

Here is DRAKE's conveyance, with a gnome-delivery stamp + gnome-ladder and mailbox,

 1848-1948 California Gold Centennial Stamp, and more! The map is on the back.