By Domingo Fortuna
Author’s Note: “Where is Waldo?” is a book for children that creates a world where everyone is similar. The Land of Waldo signifies equality among the masses and the embracing of differences. The characters in the book are adventurous and distinctive to represent some of our own characteristics. The rivalry between Odlaw and Waldo shows different aspects of humanity. Odlaw is materialistic and evil, while Waldo is friendly and has a positive attitude towards the world. In my version of “Where is Waldo?” Waldo comes out of the book to stop Handford from creating Odlaw. Waldo’s efforts result in a fight against Odlaw, which demonstrates the constant struggle between good and evil in the world. At the beginning of the story I say: “One’s past can change the future, as the future can disrupt the present,” which means that our decisions in life will always affect our future, but we still have to learn how to deal with them in the “here and now.”
One’s past can change the future, just as the future can disrupt present conditions. In 1986 Martin Handford was in his studio, trying to come up with a drawing for the director of Walker Books. Many ideas went through his mind, but Handford finally decided to create “Waldo”. “Waldo” is a time traveler who uses his walking stick to travel in time. It was a Saturday night when Handford started to create his masterpiece. The night was calm, and the wind blew softly through Handford’s window. The streets of London were quiet and Handford could only hear the sound of his pencil. Black circular glasses, a red hat and a red and white horizontal striped shirt were printed on a piece of paper. A character had been created that night.
While Handford tried to finish his drawing, he heard a loud noise that interrupted the silence. He got up and took his baseball bat from the closet. Handford went out into the hallway to discover the cause of the din. The night was very dark and he couldn’t find the light switch. Handford stumbled across the mess that was in the hallway. When he got to the bathroom door, he grabbed his baseball bat and prepared himself in case there was a thief in the bathroom. He pushed the bathroom door which opened abruptly. In the dark Handford recognized a familiar silhouette. Panicking, he turned on the light and saw a white male in his mid-twenties wearing blue jeans and a red and white horizontal striped shirt. He recognized the person because he had the same grin and clothes that Handford himself had created for his new character. In a nervous tone Handford said “Waldo?” From a dark corner of the bathroom Waldo emerged.
Waldo was desperate for help and said “Ooh Martin, finally I found you.” Handford couldn’t believe his eyes, and thought he was crazy. He closed his eyes to see if Waldo would disappear, but Waldo was still there when he opened his eyes. Waldo told Handford that he had been looking for him everywhere. Waldo didn’t have time to waste because Odlaw was planning to destroy the Land of Waldos. He explained the situation to Handford, who was still thinking it was a dream. From the toilet a vortex opened and Odlaw appeared. Waldo took Handford’s baseball bat and an epic fight between Waldo and Odlaw started.
Waldo tried to hit Odlaw,but he failed. Odlaw took a knife from his pocket and wanted to kill Waldo in order to destroy the Land of Waldos. Hanford ran back to his desk and tried to erase Odlaw. Instead of erasing Odlaw, he erased Waldo. Suddenly, he heard a yell and went back to the bathroom. When he got there, he didn’t find anything. Hanford was astonished and looked for a clue of what happened. Waldo and Odlaw had disappeared. From that day on Handford decided to draw Waldo in crowded places, so Odlaw couldn’t find him.
