Where’s Waldo?

There's a book, actually a selection of books called, “Where’s Waldo?” We have a number of them in our household and we have races to see who can find Waldo the fastest. If you are familiar with the Waldo series then you know he wears a red and white striped outfit and holds a walking stick. The trouble is, many of the other people wear red and white outfits, but they, of course, are not the real Waldo. The series of books takes you back in time, into the future, and in many locations around the globe. It’s a lot of fun and is challenging when you play with kids---they are much faster than some of us.

Sometimes we play real life “Where’s Waldo?” when we are at the grocery store, mall or a large crowd. Yesterday more than 2 million people came to the city of Chicago, and whereas you would suspect cell phones would be the answer when you were trying to contact someone---the system can only handle so many users at one point in time. In other words, finding “your Waldo” becomes more than a million and one challenge, it becomes 2 million to one.

It’s tough when you lose someone in a crowd, especially when the crowd is as immense in size as it was yesterday. Toss in some alcohol, heat, and very happy fans, and you have the makings of a challenging situation. Then, when the busses of happy players travels by you, the crowd squeezes together, the heat increases and confetti falls all over you. Thankfully it all turned out pretty well, there were some heat-related incidents, but all in all, it was what the city prepared for; well except for the additional 1,700,000 fans they were not anticipating. Oops.

The crowds were even too much for me; as I wrote in yesterday’s “Snap. Shot.” I ventured up over the crowds for several reasons---the heat, the happy fans who had been drinking, and knowing I had a lot of camera equipment with me. Camera equipment, where if something had happened to it, would be like playing “Where’s My Nikon?” amongst a large crowd.

The photo above was taken out of the 18^th story window of my dentist’s office. Literally hanging out the window, I made sure I wrapped my legs around a heavy item; it was the desk that allowed me to shoot, hang out the window and avoid shooting the last picture of my life. If you want to play “Where’s Waldo” in this picture, I have found one person without his shirt on. Looking at him, he should be wearing a shirt, but that’s not the point of the game. If you have an opportunity to play, give it a shot---and make sure you are quick because the kids will find him first.

Thanks for stopping by.