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The Great American Pin-Up Series: Polly LbNA #40991

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Jun 18, 2008
Location:
City:Kirkland
County:DeKalb
State:Illinois
Boxes:1
Planted by:Lock, Shock & Barrel
Found by: Leapin' Lizards
Last found:Apr 1, 2015
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
Last edited:Jun 18, 2008
Letterbox Name: The Great American Pin-up Series: Polly
Location: Kirkland, IL
Distance: Approximately 0.5 miles

She should have known better. That’s all that I have to say. I mean, she’s a smart lady, and she certainly takes good care of me, but what was going on in her head that day, I can’t even begin to guess.

I suppose the trouble started when the May issue of “Feathers & Fashion” magazine arrived. Polly grabbed that magazine and flipped through the pages, just dying to see what new ideas she might find. Of course, that particular magazine has always made me a bit nervous, and I, for one, think that’s completely understandable.

In any case, Polly continued paging through the magazine until she stopped and gasped and exclaimed, “This one’s perfect! It’s sure to catch the eye of some handsome guy.”

She picked up a simple hat with a sheer white veil, and then looked my way. It was a playful look, but hiding behind her smile was something insidious, half-crazed. Yes, if there was one thing that could make Polly lose all control, it was her lust to stand apart from the crowd. And so she turned and looked at me, watching while I backed as far away from her as I could.

But in the end, there’s only so much of a perch that a parrot can stand on, and though I raised quite a squawk about the whole thing, she’d taken what she needed in no time. Yes, when she was done I was minus a few feathers, and she was on her way to embellishing her oh-so-fashionable hat.

“This is odd,” she said, looking back at the magazine. “It says to attach the feathers with wax. Well, if that’s the way to do it, it’s what I’ll do.”

Here again, I swear to you, she’s a smart person. I’ve listened to her conversations with friends about literature, business, art, music – you name it. So why would she make the “perfect hat” with wax and feathers? I tell you, I have no clue. But make it she did, and the day eventually came for her to attend a gathering of her friends at MacQueen Woods, near the town of Kirkland, Illinois.

Now it was shaping up to be a warm weekend, and I’m telling you that tried to stop her. But she would not listen. I let out a loud “SQUAWWWWWK!” as she was leaving.

“Daedalus,” she scolded. “Pipe down, now. I’ll be back later this evening.”

With that, she left. What happened next is what I’ve been able to glean from Polly’s side of phone conversations in the days that followed. But apparently, she arrived at the party and her hat was an immediate hit. Polly basked in the golden glow of compliments and admiration. Everything was going so well, but the gentle glow of the morning sun gave way to the blaring light of a summer afternoon.

And then everything went downhill. When did she realize that things had gone horribly wrong? Perhaps it was the whispers among her friends. Perhaps it was the increasing looks of discomfort as the friends who’d complimented her just hours ago seemed unable to look her in the eye. I’m betting though, that it was that first drop of melted wax that landed on her shoulder.

As her friends’ whispers started to give way to giggles, she ran off, red with embarrassment, or sunburn, or maybe both. She ran away from the lodge by way of a trail that led more or less westward. She ran past “one” post, and then a second, until she came to a fork in the trail, where she paused. The left-hand path was marked with a sign which made it clear that no horses were allowed. Thinking that where there are no horses there would be less people, Polly chose the left path, so that she could be as far from other people as possible.

Running along the path, she passed #11, then saw a large clearing on the right with pairs of everything. Beneath a small pavilion were two picnic tables. She saw two benches, and she couldn’t help but think of how alone she felt, and how promising the day had looked earlier on. She ran on, past two picnic tables near the tree line, then past #9, until she came to a bright green garbage can.

She angrily took off her ruined hat, and tossed it into the trash, then turned to follow the trail to the left of the can. After a short distance, she came to a large “Y”-shaped tree just a few feet off the trail. She continued down the trail down to the river and immediately spotted huge fallen branch, with one end facing north, and other facing south. She scurried to the north end, and crawled in, hiding herself under some bark.

She hid herself there for quite a while, and you might be able to find her there if you look carefully. Please be polite, though, and rehide her well. She’s my person after all, even if she is a bit bird-brained when under the influence of fashion…

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The Great American Pin-up series is, first and foremost, a celebration of the style, femininity, and fun of pin-up art over the years. While great care was taken to select images that would not offend, it’s worth noting that some letterboxers, including those traveling with younger children, might find the images to be “rated PG”. That said, we hope that you enjoy the images as much as we’ve enjoyed selecting and carving them.

Please note: The stamps are a bit large, and will require a 4”x 6” space for stamping. We also strongly recommend inking pens, to bring out the full detail of the stamps.