So this past year, MercyMe had the priveledge of attending the Grammys. I must admit it was pretty cool. The show itself was great, but my favorite part of the night was the after party. Our record label is affiliated with Columbia records, so we got the invite. I enjoyed myself because I am a people watcher, and there is no greater place to watch people than in Hollywood. Let me just say the night did not disappoint. Watching people is one thing, but actually talking to them is another story. It is just plain weird to try to engage with some of these folks. But I had a secret weapon…a flat Stanley. For those of you who have no clue what I am talking about, let me explain. A flat Stanley is a paper cut out figure that a grade school class will make and send to people all over the place in hopes of getting photos of ol’ Stanley in different parts of the globe. Then, when Stanley returns home, the kids giggle and snort as they admire all the places their special traveler has been. All this to say, a good friend of mine asked me to take flat Stanley with me for his daughter’s class. I must say this worked to my advantage. You never really realize how much confidence a little paper doll can give a person until you try it. I was fearless. I approached everyone the same. I would start off by asking if they knew what a flat Stanley was. If they said yes, then it was on! If they said no, then we would just stare at each other uncomfortably until one of us slithered away. People saying no was almost as funny as people saying yes. I asked Tony Bennett if he would mind taking a picture with flat Stanley and he said, “sure send him over.” I got so nervous, I said ok, walked away as if I were going to get some guy named Stanley, and never came back. Sorry Mr. Bennett. To make a long story longer, here are some pics with yours truly, flat Stanley and some of my closest friends. Enjoy.

-Bart

Ps. On a side note, the place was pretty crowded, so I jumped in the middle of Paris Hilton’s entourage to get to the bathroom quicker. Ha ha ha ha I really did!

Kevin, from the TV show “The Office.” I guess I should have looked up his real name.

Isaac Slade from the band “The Fray.” Apparently Flat Stanley was thirsty.

Here we are with Chris Daughtry. Look at the size of my head…freaking huge!!!!

The reason I look so weird is because Carrie Underwood just came up and took Stanley after my picture with Chris Daughtry. Seems that Stanley and I were so famous that the little people were just standing in line to get our picture. Kidding of course.

Flat Stanley, Weird Al and Large Bart. The perfect trio.