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December 29 , 2008
The saga of Hatteras Island’s Fat Frosty By IRENE NOLAN  Fat Frosty found a fishing friend, Over at ole Kinnakeet Shores Egg Nog Inn. Best wishes to all who led him this way For he is on a fishing holiday. He said to be sure to thank a friend, And he will see you all again. Wishing all with good cheer, a fishing Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Reindeer hugs and fishy kisses ... Love, Fat Frosty --Dec. 22, 2008 “Fat Frosty” has had quite a trip up and down Hatteras Island – and even to Portsmouth, Va. – since the snowman started his trip in mid-December. Fat Frosty is a blow-up, lit-up yard decoration that has been gifted from islander to islander – very stealthily and often under the cover of darkness. He has surprised and delighted the folks who have returned home or awakened to find him adorning their yards. The idea for a traveling Christmas lawn ornament began two years ago in Hatteras village. Two women – Sydnee Slaughter and Sue Jones -- were involved in spiriting a lesser version of Fat Frosty from house to house. The idea is that you “gift” the ornament to a friend or neighbor, who is then instructed to “pass it forward” to another friend or neighbor.  Unfortunately, that version of the snowman ended up off the island and never returned. So last year, Sydnee tried again with a “tacky” stuffed fox mounted on wood that she picked up at a yard sale. Adorned with lights and red ribbon, the fox made its rounds on the island. This year, it was decided that there needed to be a new yard ornament. Involved in choosing the replacement and getting Fat Frosty on his way were Sydnee, Sue, Donna Peele, and Beth Bailey. Fat Frosty was first delivered to the home of Sue and Steve Jones in Frisco. He came to my house on Dec. 13. Next he visited in Brigand’s Bay on the lawns of GeeGee Rosell, Stuart and Anita Bills, Kim and Jerry Montgomery, Robert and Stephanie Doswell, the Lettieri family, and Mead Slagle. Moving Fat Frosty is somewhat more difficult than you might imagine. You must be sneaky to get Fat Frosty to another house without being discovered. And you must take Fat Frosty to a house with an accessible electric outlet. He requires power to blow up and light up. By the way, he comes with a gift bag explaining his origin and instructions for passing him forward. Kim Montgomery says that re-gifting Fat Frosty was “actually fun” – maybe in retrospect. She invited her neighbor, Elise Dixon, to accompany her on the adventure. Miss Elise is up there in years, and you would never know it except that these days, she gets around in a wheelchair. So Kim set out with Miss Elise – in her wheelchair, holding the deflated Fat Frosty in her lap. They were looking for a neighbor with an accessible outdoor electric outlet. “We had to go to four houses to find electricity,” Kim says. Meanwhile, Miss Elise kept fretting that someone might shoot at them over their nocturnal adventure. All the Fat Frosty recipients have been tickled by the surprise. The same can’t be said for their animals.  My Labrador, Daisy, didn’t like Fat Frosty one bit. My neighbors, the Billses, also have a dog spooked by the appearance of the chubby, lit-up creature. Their golden retriever, Sailor, was totally freaked out and would not go in or out the front door until Fat Frosty went away. Jerry and Kim Montgomery had a similar problem with their two dogs. John Lettieri thought the idea was a terrific one, and actually contributed an extension cord to the effort. Mead Slagle said Fat Frosty’s appearance at his house was “a pleasant surprise.” Just before Christmas, Fat Frosty arrived at the home of Bentley and Sandra Crabtree in Kinnakeet Shores. He settled into a spot on the Crabtree’s boat with “fishing Santa.” Sandra admits to being “a little smitten” with the fellow. “It was bittersweet to let him go,” she said in an e-mail. After a few days, they decided they had to get on with moving Fat Frosty for Christmas. Sandra said in an e-mail: “After a great fishing trip, Santa had to get to work, so Fat Frosty met up with five playful reindeer buddies over at the ole Kinnakeet Shores Egg Nog Inn and was last spotted in Hatteras Pines on Middle Tree Trail in the vicinity of Ann and Randy Jordan’s front lawn.” So, Fat Frosty spent Christmas Day on the lawn of the Jordans. They had to leave the island on Dec. 26, so the Crabtrees retrieved the snowman. Sandra admits they couldn’t help but take him on one more trip after Christmas – over the state line to the home of Bentley’s great-aunt, Jonie Didio, in Portsmouth, Va. He was accompanied by fishing Santa. Now Fat Frosty is retired and with the Crabtrees, who are waiting for further instructions from Sydnee Slaughter and her cohorts. “Thank you to the original elf who came up with such a wonderful idea and great way to share the spirit,” Sandra says. Fat Frosty, she says, is a “whimsical splendor that brings out the true child within us all.” So where will Fat Frosty turn up for Christmas, 2009? Maybe in your yard? |
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