"Flat Daddy" Life-Sized Cardboard Figures Of Soldiers Eat Dinner At Home

[Jcrowley]

This is just over the top. Has anybody else been dropped into this parallel universe?



Guard families cope in two dimensions
`Flat Daddy' cutouts ease longing
By Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff  |  August 30, 2006

Maine National Guard members in Iraq and Afghanistan are never far from the thoughts of their loved ones.
But now, thanks to a popular family-support program, they're even closer.

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.

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.

``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."

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/08/30/guard_families_cope_in_two_dimensions/

[CarlVK]

1. what....the...fuck?

[Ilsa]

2. Okay, we need a Michael moore-style skit on this.

You know, flat-daddy playing catch, swimming w/ the kids, helping with homework, taking out the trash, and let's not forget, mommy having sex with flat-daddy.

[Bucky]

4. o my

only if flat-daddy comes with batteries.

It'd be worse if real-daddy gets a "Dear John" letter from the missus saying flat-daddy treats her better & they're running off to Vegas.

[omega minimo]

21. Forget it-- Flat Daddy can't get it up

"....let's not forget, mommy having sex with flat-daddy"


:evilgrin:

[wakeme2008]

3. OK I am weird but I think it is a good idea

:shrug:

[Bucky]

5. I agree. You're being weird. This is not the same as mantlepiece photos.

Pictures and phone calls from dad are great for troop morale & good for the kids who certainly need & deserve reassurance at a time like this. Attempting to emotionally supplant the father or mother who is away will really fuck up a kid should something serious happen to their parent.

[Jcrowley]

6. It reminds me

of The Twilight Zone. Not too difficult to imagine that daddy gets killed and after awhile the cardboard replacement "Becomes" daddy. One day perhaps after a barbecue/picnic daddy is left out in the rain and in tatters but the family still holds onto the illusion, as they are in a permanently traumatized state, that this frayed figure is the real father. As I look at the picture in the OP I see much in the way of disturbance.

[Kagemusha]

7. You wanna know why they're doing this?

Because kids were growing up not recognizing their fathers at all. Saw them a month in two years and when Daddy came home around age 2 they had no connection to the man whatsoever.

As sad it is for me to say this, this may be an improvement -_-

[DawgHouse]

8. Similar to the "daddy dolls" site.

I thought the dolls were kind of sweet, though. The photo gallery has some touching photos :(

http://www.daddydolls.com/

[AwakeAtLast]

18. Oh, that would have been great for my daughter!

She was 2 when he went to Boot Camp and AIT, 3 when he left for Iraq, and 4 when he got home. I know she would have adjusted better being able to touch something that looked like him instead of just seeing him on a computer screen. Don't get me wrong, webcams were great, but she needed that tactile experience. Luckily she and Daddy are inseperable now!

[Olney Blue]

9. This reminds me of "Wilson" the soccerball in "Castaway"

[Canuckistanian]

14. More like "The Lonely Guy"

Where all these unattached bachelors put cardboard cutouts in their one-room apartments.

[wtmusic]

10. What if Daddy comes home and they decide they like 2-D Daddy better?

"He NEVER makes us brush our teeth!"

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

11. Okay.... Stop the fucking world. I want to get off.

[ajacobson]

12. This is awful.

Psychotherapists are going to get rich as King Midas off the million hours of treatment these kids will need.

[DinahMoeHum]

13. What happens if the real-life daddy gets killed in action?

This could back-fire big time.

:scared:

[BattyDem]

17. I just posted the same question

I saw the original post and I responded before reading anyone else's response.

I had the same thought you did. What the hell happens to that family, especially the children, if the parent gets killed in action?

This is not a good idea. :-(

[MetaTrope]

15. Works for all primates!

[BattyDem]

16. Is this for real?

Oh my. This can't be healthy. What if "Real Daddy" or "Real Mommy" gets killed in action? Do you fold "Flat Daddy" and put him in the attic? Does "Flat Mommy" get a funeral, too? :shrug:

I'm not trying to be a smart-ass ... I'm serious. Wouldn't children (and even some spouses) have a far more difficult time dealing with the loss? Wouldn't they be tempted to keep "Flat Daddy" around even if "Real Daddy" was not coming home? Wouldn't those children feel as if they were losing their parent twice?

I understand that they want the children to feel close to the parent, but a far better solution would be to give that a child something that belongs to the parent, like a favorite shirt or a baseball hat. That way, the child can still feel close without having to resort to a cardboard replica.

Does anyone else feel like the entire 21st century has been spent in the Twilight Zone?



edited: typo :blush:

[Oeditpus Rex]

19. I can't wait for someone to put Flat Daddy in their car

then get pulled over for driving alone in the HOV lane.

Driver to cop:

"YOU DON'T SUPPORT THE TROOPS!!!11"

[No Exit]

20. Let's get us a "Flat Bastard" to replace George W. Bush...

would anyone notice, I wonder...

[Jcrowley]

22. Cardboard cutout

would no doubt have more intelligent things to say.

[Vinca]

23. Good idea. It might keep us from war with Iran. nt