by NewKid » Sat Sep 02, 2006 4:35 am
<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Maine National Guard members in Iraq and Afghanistan are never far from the thoughts of their loved ones. <br><br>But now, thanks to a popular family-support program, they're even closer.<br><br>Welcome to the "Flat Daddy" and "Flat Mommy" phenomenon, in which life-size cutouts of deployed service members are given by the Maine National Guard to spouses, children, and relatives back home.<br><br>The Flat Daddies ride in cars, sit at the dinner table, visit the dentist, and even are brought to confession, according to their significant others on the home front.<br><br>"I prop him up in a chair, or sometimes put him on the couch and cover him up with a blanket," said Kay Judkins of Caribou, whose husband, Jim, is a minesweeper mechanic in Afghanistan. "The cat will curl up on the blanket, and it looks kind of weird. I've tricked several people by that. They think he's home again."<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://patriotboy.blogspot.com/2006_08_27_patriotboy_archive.html#115699960693895120" target="top">patriotboy.blogspot.com/2006_08_27_patriotboy_archive.html#115699960693895120</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/08/30/guard_families_cope_in_two_dimensions/" target="top">see also here</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><br><!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/AP_Photo/2006/08/30/1156918134_2399.jpg" style="border:0;"/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--> <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=newkid@rigorousintuition>NewKid</A> at: 9/2/06 2:44 am<br></i>