Flat Stanley Goes to Work

On Thursday, the day after his momentous arrival in San Francisco, Flat Stanley put on his usual outfit (red shirt with white cuffs, blue pants, olive-green shoes -- perfect for most occasions) and went to work with his hostess, April. He wanted to see where she works and what her job is like. He picked a good time to go -- Thursday was videoconference day! April works in the member communications department at Kaiser Permanente, which is a health care and medical insurance provider based in Oakland, CA. The communications team is divided into two sections: One team works  in Northern California, and the other works in Southern California. Once every month, they have a videoconference so they can catch up on work and say hello.

Everyone at Kaiser was happy to see Flat Stanley. The doorman said hello. And the newsletter editor, Donna Taylor, wanted to interview Flat Stanley to learn about his trip to California. So Flat Stanley met with Donna and told her all about his journey through the U.S. mail, and his welcome in San Francisco. He told her about the adventures he knew were coming. And he asked a few questions himself.

He found out that Donna has worked at Kaiser Permanente for 10 years, and that she loves her job. He found out that her friend April has known Donna since college, and that they are very happy to work together. Another thing he learned is that Donna has a pet rabbit named James, who is very tame and who uses a litter box just like pet cats do! He asked Donna how she learned to be an editor, and she told him that she and April both studied journalism at college.

After the interview, Donna invited Flat Stanley to take a piece of candy from the mug she always keeps full of Tootsie Rolls and Hot Tamale candies. How could he resist?

Then it was time to go to the videoconference. Flat Stanley had never been to a videoconference, and he was a little nervous about being on TV. On his way to the next building over, where the videoconference would take place, he checked his reflection in a window. Yep, his brown hair was nice and neat. He joined the others on the elevator and rode up to the 16th floor.
In the meeting room, everyone was taking their seats and chattering away. Nobody seemed nervous about being on TV, and so Flat Stanley relaxed just a little bit. He even went right up to the screen to say hello to April's coworkers in Southern California. Soon it was time for the meeting to start, and Donna kicked it off by introducing their guest for the day, who would talk about new and special ways that the company is planning to communicate with its members about how to stay healthier. Flat Stanley thought that they were good ideas. After a while, though, he grew sleepy and decided to take a nap in April's knapsack. And he stayed there, snug and safe, until they got back home again.