Below is the email I sent to some friends describing (in detail) my meeting with Larry Brantley. In case you don't know, Larry is the man that provides Wishbone's voice.

So... we got to Wal*Mart an hour & 30 minutes early (of course!! I *had* to be first in line). I was decked out in a WB t-shirt and a pin, and my mother had (surprisingly) willingly put on a Wishbone t-shirt too. We (me, my dad, and my little bro) sent Mom out to try and find where exactly Larry would be-- there was no advertising or anything! After about 30 min. she came back, telling us "I talked to a security guard; he'll [Larry] be in front of electronics". So my mom & I headed over to electronics (the male members of our family weren't that interested in seeing him-- weirdos). There was nothing there except a big red trunk (with a small hole in the top-- oops!), but I recognized it from my studio tour; Mike Losurdo had pointed it out and told me that's where they put the big red chair for travelling. Sure enough, Mom checked the little luggage tag on the handle which read "Red chair" and some other stuff we couldn't make out. We sort of stood around for a while; it didn't really seem like anything much was going on (of course not! It was 1:00 and he was scheduled to be there at 2). We heard snippets of conversation from various employees-- "I don't see no four-legged critter 'round here" (good grief!!) and "Where's the dog?" "I bet he's in the box." "Yeah right." It was obvious that these people had absolutely no idea who was coming! They thought it was Soccer himself! I finally got up the nerve to speak to one, here's how it went:

SUNNY (timidly): Uh... could you tell me exactly who's coming?
EMPLOYEE 1: Some dog, I think it's Wishbone?
SUNNY (knowing she's right but being modest =P): Oh... 'cause I heard it was Larry Brantley, who does Wishbone's voice.
EMPLOYEE 1: Oh... could be. (to another employee) HEY! She says it's not the dog comin'.

--The other employee comes over--

EMPLOYEE 2: Oh, really? Who is it?
EMPLOYEE 1: Some guy who does Wishbone's voice.

--Yet another employee behind a desk hears us talking--

EMPLOYEE 3: What's going on here? Where's the dog?
SUNNY'S MOM: It's not a dog, we think it's the guy that does the dog's voice.
EMPLOYEE 3: So what is it, a cartoon show?
SUNNY (under her breath): This is pathetic. (out loud) It's not a cartoon, it's a show about a dog who reads books and pretends to talk.
SUNNY'S MOM: They dress him up in costumes, it's really cute.

--FINALLY, a person who appears to know what's going on appears--

SHEILA (to Mom): Hi, I'm Sheila, customer relations.
MOM: Hi, nice to meet you.
SHEILA: So, do you know what's going on?
SUNNY: Yeah, it's supposed to be Larry Brantley, the man who does Wishbone's voice.
SHEILA: Oh, it's not the dog coming? That's what we were told.
SUNNY: Well, I really, really, doubt it, I've heard some stuff on the internet and talked to other people who've seen it and it really doesn't seem like Wishbone's coming. (I *know* that's a run-on sentence. I was excited.)
SHEILA: Oh, OK. I take it you're a big fan of the show?
SUNNY (embarrassed): Oh... yeah.

--A little girl (Melanie) about 5 years old and her mother appear--

MELANIE'S MOM: So, where's the dog?
SUNNY (for about the tenth time): It's not going to be a dog, it'll be the guy that does the dog's voice.
MELANIE'S MOM: Oh yeah, they were interviewing him on the radio on Friday.
SUNNY: Oh, really?
MELANIE'S MOM: Yeah, what's his name? Larry...
SUNNY: Brantley. Larry Brantley.
MELANIE: Where's Wishbone? Wiiiiiishbone... (I swear, she sounded *exactly* like Emily Barnes)
MELANIE'S MOM: Wishbone's not coming, sweetie. It's the man who talks for Wishbone.
MELANIE: No it's not!
MELANIE'S MOM: Yes honey, you don't think Wishbone can talk by himself, do you? Puppies can't talk.
MELANIE: Wishbone can.

--Melanie's mom looks around, as if searching for someone to help her explain to Melanie--

--By now, a small crowd, mainly children, has begun to gather--

--Sheila and another employee begin to open the box. Inside is The Big Red Chair and a cutout of Wishbone. They roll the chair over in front of some videos and place the cutout (rather lopsidedly) on it. It looks like Wishbone's falling over. Then, they unfold a card table and place it next to the chair. They place a dark towel over some unsightly videos in the background--

SUNNY (to her mom): Look, I bet he'll sign autographs.
SUNNY'S MOM: Yeah, do you want him to sign your t-shirt?
SUNNY: I guess so.

--Sheila unwraps a copy of "The Prince and the Pauper" video and puts it in a nearby TV. Unfortunately, the video gets stuck, and the TV has to be carried off. Another TV is fetched, and this time the movie plays.--

--At about 1:30, two men appear and walk toward the back of the store.--

SUNNY'S MOM: Is that him?
SUNNY: Oh my gosh, it is! Oh wow. Oh... wow. (She takes out a picture of him she brought and compares it with the real guy). Yeah, that's him. Wow. Wow.

--Larry waves and is ushered by his handler to the back of the store.--

--Little Melanie is getting rather restless. She is rolling all over the floor.--

MELANIE'S MOM: Melanie, if you don't quit that, we're gonna leave.
MELANIE: Mom...
MELANIE'S MOM: I mean it, honey.

--Sunny tries to keep Melanie entertained.--

SUNNY (showing Melanie her picture of Dog Boy & Soccer): Look, that's the man we're going to see. And therrrrrre's Wishbone!

--Melanie gives Sunny a look as if to say "You are the strangest person I have ever seen in my life."--

SUNNY (showing Melanie a picture from her visit to the studios): Look, see, there's that chair. That's Wishbone's chair.
MELANIE (pointing to the picture of Sunny sitting in the chair): Who's that?
SUNNY: That's me!

--Melanie giggles uncontrollably--

SHEILA (to Sunny & mom): You were here first, right?
SUNNY (nodding): Yeah.
SHEILA (to crowd of about 10 people): Could you make a line over here, please? OK, thanks.

--The crowd lines up behind Sunny and her mom. Kids are going crazy. It's a pretty hectic place. Employees begin to block off a path for customers.--

--An announcement comes on the speakers--

ANNOUNCEMENT: Hey kids, come meet the tail-waggin', fun-lovin' pooch, Wishbone. He'll be in electronics from 2 to 4 and you can get a paw-tograph. And as always, thank you for shopping at Wal*Mart.
SUNNY (to nobody in particular): That was stupid. Wishbone's not going to be here. They shouldn't say that. It'll confuse people.

--Later...--

SUNNY: He hates being called "pooch". That's what Wanda calls him.

--And still later...--

SUNNY: La-dee-dah. This is boring. I have a headache. I'm hungry. I haven't eaten for 6 hours (it was true!).

--She watches the video and acts all around bored--

SUDDENLY... HE APPEARS!!!! IT'S HIM & SOME OTHER GUY!!! WOW!!!!!!!

LARRY (loudly): ARE YOU SUNNY?!
SUNNY (quietly): Yeah.
LARRY (engulfing Sunny in huge hug): Boy, I'm so glad you could be here! --They pose for some pictures together--

LARRY: Matt S. says hi. I saw him yesterday in San Antonio.
SUNNY: Oh... yeah.
LARRY: You know him?
SUNNY: Yeah, we've done some chatting on the internet.
LARRY: He had all his video cameras.
SUNNY: Yeah, he's really in to videos and stuff.
LARRY: He introduced himself as #2 Wishbone fan, letting you be #1.

SUNNY (embarrassed): Oh... yeah.
LARRY: So, how are you?
SUNNY: Fine.
LARRY: What do you want autographed?
SUNNY: Oh... my t-shirt.

--Larry signs the t-shirt--

LARRY: What are those pictures you've got there?
SUNNY: Oh, did you know I visited the Wishbone studios?
LARRY: No! When did you do that?
SUNNY: Thanksgiving. Mike Losurdo...
LARRY: Big Mike! Yeah, I know him.
SUNNY: ...he took me on a tour.
LARRY: Wow, that's really neat. I'm glad you got to see that.
SUNNY: Yeah, it was really cool.
OTHER GUY (HANDLER?): Did you get to see the backlot?
SUNNY: Yeah.

--She shows Larry her pictures--

LARRY (when seeing the picture of his little sound studio thing): Hey, the Dog House!
SUNNY: Yeah.
LARRY: Do you still have your website?
SUNNY: Yeah.
LARRY: I'm sorry I don't get on the internet as much as I wish. I got on the Worldwide Wishbone Bulletin Board the other day, though.
SUNNY: Oh... cool.

--They pose for a few more pictures, and Larry autographs a bookmark--

LARRY: So where do you live?
SUNNY: College Station.
LARRY: How long did it take you to get here?
SUNNY: About 2 hours.
LARRY: Wow... well I'm so glad you could come.

--He gives Sunny another hug--

SUNNY: Yeah, thanks a lot.

Phew... what an experience!!!

The Squeekee Book