Waldo's Freakin' Dog

I had a breakfast appointment yesterday morning at a local restaurant. We had arranged to meet at 7:30 and I arrived a couple minutes early. I took a seat in the lobby area and noticed a stack of magazines and books to my right. Just as I was about to pick up a magazine to read of Brad and Jennifer's recent split, I saw a Where's Waldo? book sitting beneath the pile. The sight of the glasses-wearing, red-and-white striped fellow brought warm memories of my childhood when I found great joy in finding him amongst a colorful picture. (For those of you who don't know what Where's Waldo? is, google it.)

I picked up the book and turned to the first page. I was surprised to find that the directions said that I was to find not only Waldo, but also Wenda (Waldo's girlfriend), Wizard Whitebeard (Waldo's wizard friend), Odlaw (Waldo's enemy), and Woof (Waldo's dog). After a moment of fear and anxiety, I found the courage to accept the challenge. Within the first five minutes, I had found Waldo, Wenda, Whitebeard, and Odlaw. I was almost chuckling at how easy it was, wondering why I was even challenged by this as a kid.

After a couple of minutes of looking for Woof, I got a little frustrated that I couldn't find this stupid dog. Finally, at 7:45, I remembered that my friend hadn't arrived, so I called and left him a message wondering what was going on. (Note that while leaving the voicemail message, my eyes were fixed on the Where's Waldo? book, searching for Woof).

The search for Woof continued on...and on. I looked left, I looked right, I looked up, I looked down. I looked for Woof's tail, I looked for his striped coat, I looked for his hat. I couldn't find him. When 8:00 rolled around, I realized two things: 1) my friend wasn't going to show up, and 2) if i left, i would probably never figure out where Woof was.

I decided I'd give it a couple minutes. At 8:05 a.m., I found the tail of Woof sticking out behind another character in the drawing. Woof's body or face or hat was not drawn; only his tail was displayed to be found. I walked out of that restaurant not even thinking about the fact that I had been stood up. I was too ecstatic that I had found Woof, despite the fact that only his tail was showing.