The Puppeteer

Yesterday in downtown Marietta was a Fall Festival. There were arts and crafts booths set up to hawk their wares and other booths for special interests, such as animal rescues, Ghost Tour of Marietta, eats, and so on.

These kind of festivals happen for different reasons – most of the time we are lured there. We like to watch the people. Yesterday was a Halloween costume contest for kids and apparently a costume contest for dogs too. There were plenty dressed-up dogs walking around. Willow as with us, but we know better than try to but some kind of garb on her – she will have none of that…. How is a lady to squat and pee with dignity if she has clothes all over her body?

It seems that Marietta has plenty of these type of festivals and just looks for an excuse to have one. It must be a good money-getter. They must have 4 to 6 a year, maybe more.

Last year at one of these things in downtown Marietta along the row of booths was a short solo young man with a puppet in his arms. It looked something like a big bird like creature… with strings and little sticks he could control its mouth and arm movement. It sat on his arm and moved its head around as its controller moved among the crowd.

The puppet was so naturally moving life like, in his arms. People were ignoring him – I thought probably the parents told their kids not to go near him.

Apparently people ignoring him did not discourage him. At the next festival he was there, walking around with that puppet sitting on his arm. Again he was alone and ignored.

The thought occurred to me that he was a ghost – and nobody could see him or his puppet – however, if that was the case, what was I looking at?

The next festival we were eating in a little eatery when he and a girl came in. He had a date! Maybe that was the plan all along, maybe he had hoped his puppet would be a chic magnet. He looked nervous and ill-at-ease. I don’t think the girl even noticed. They walked in holding hands… or she was holding his hand anyway.

A few festivals have came and gone since I saw him. Then, yesterday he reappeared with a new puppet.

As we were walking back to our car he walked by, alone. He and a new one. This one had a white fur with something like a red hat – maybe it had a white beard… I’m was watching him more than I was watching his make-believe friend. He bent the puppet over towards Willow and made its naturally move an arm or its head or something. Willow kind of backed up untrusting. The guy never said a word or even smiled.

I wished I had taken his picture. I got a feeling his name will be a household name some day.