How Mrs. Fleenor and Gravy Met

Mrs. Fleenor and Me at Mount Vernon in 2007

One day, I was at a truck stop. I hitched a ride from Canada down to Upstate New York on a truck. It was the first time I had ever been to the United States, so I got off the truck to look around... and to get a snack.

I saw a woman in the line in front of me. She had Pringles chips in a can. I love those things. I thought that maybe if I was nice to her we could share. But then I saw her backpack and she put her chips in there. I made a dash for the bag and jumped in. It was the dirtiest place I had ever been. There was a water bottle with clean water, but the outside was smeared with mud. She had gardening gloves and a trowel, too. I knew that she must be a gardener, so I stayed hidden so she would take me home. I felt her lift the backpack up onto her shoulders, and off we went!

About half a can of Pringles later, the woman flung the backpack onto the ground and I landed with a thud. She reached in her bag and put on her gloves and grabbed her trowel. Being a gnome who loves gardens, I just had to peak out and see what it was like. 

Peaking out of the backpack, I saw the weirdest thing I had ever seen. It was not a garden at all. Instead, there were all of these muddy people digging squares into the ground. They were sifting the dirt through a screen, too. It was not a garden at all, but an archaeological excavation. I had snuck into the backpack of an archaeologist!

I hid back down into the backpack. I was thinking of an escape plan when the woman stuck her hand in the bag. She was fumbling around for her water bottle. I tried to shove it into her hand, but I tripped over the empty Pringles can. The woman took my hat! No respectable garden gnome can be seen without a hat. The woman yelped as she realized she had a hat in her hand. I took this as my chance sneak out and introduce myself. I needed my hat back.

Smiling up at the woman, I bowed down and introduced myself as Gravy Griswold Gnomikin the first. As I reached out to shake her hand, the woman smiled down at me and said her name was Mrs. Fleenor. Then she said, "So you're the one who ate all of my Pringles." I was guilty as charged. I was also surprised that she knew what I was. Most people swear that they have never seen a garden gnome before and that we don't exist. I really think that there is something wrong with their vision. 

Mrs. Fleenor and I became very good friends after this. I went with her on her travels and got to visit so many different locations! We went to archaeological sites, museums, and parks. Now she is not an archaeologist, but a teacher. She still takes me to all the places she goes. Check out our blog so you can see where we travel to! You might even learn a thing or two. 

     -Gravy