Shoot Frosty

I found a note with the title of today’s blog in my pocket after church on Sunday. I had to grin. ‘Shoot Frosty.’ Dude. Sounds downright violent, you know? And all for a guy who never asked to come into existence. He just showed up one day when kids, for pete’s sake, had enough time to play in the snow and actually create a new life form. I mean, really. And for this the guy has to pay with his life? Sounds oddly like Frankenstein.

The note, of course, did not refer to killing the poor dear, but instead, recording him digitally as art. ‘Shoot’ as in ‘take a photo.’

Frosty, pictured here, came into our lives one year ago at Waffle Shop. There he was, hanging on the wall in perfect light. I stopped and wondered how he got there. He had been brought in to sell at Elsie’s Attic (think indoor garage sale) and, for lack of a better place, I assumed, was hung there in all his glory.

I determined that he would have to be purchased for Waffle Shop and become our mascot. Alas, I discovered, Frosty had already been sold to a parishioner who planned to ship him down to her daughter’s family in North Carolina. We talked a bit, and she was ready to give the old boy up for Waffle Shop. I insisted that she found him first and her wishes ruled. Frosty made his way to North Carolina soon thereafter and arrived in time for Christmas.

But he wasn’t that far from my thoughts. I’d ask my friend at church how old Frosty was doing in his new digs. ‘Well,’ she worried, ‘I don’t think they appreciate him down there very much. They don’t seem too excited about having him.’ Hmmm, I thought.

Sure enough, one day late last summer/early fall, I was informed that I had a visitor in the church office. And there he was! Returned in all his glory, Frosty!

And so it is: Frosty the Waffleman has returned as Waffle Shop’s official mascot.

But not so quick. After all, the frosty fella’ is holding a star after all. I mean, holding a star is ultra cool. I wouldn’t want to keep anybody from that experience. But what is more cool: a star or a waffle?

Well, for those of us who know and love Waffle Shop, during that single week in November, stars come second. Waffles fill the galaxy -- er, dining room in our lives. And, after all, Frosty was now one of us.

So my good buddy and Waffle Shop kitchen manager -- and all around cool artist Mary Dahlberg -- took Frosty home for a short stay and a little physical therapy. And now -- voila! -- Frosty is, indeed, Frosty the Waffleman, complete with a beautiful, fluffy waffle!

And, well, I’ve got to go to church and ‘shoot Frosty.‘

When I do, I’ll be sure to share it with you here. In the meantime, have a warm and revitalizing holiday. Merry Christmas to most of you; Happy Holidays to all the rest!

Today’s elder idea: Frosty the Snowman is a fairytale they say. He was made of snow but the children know how he came to life one day.