No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on September 9, 2018

Funny how when one is young that fifty-five seems to be old but now that I am here, it doesn’t seem that old anymore.

For new folks to reading my web log, I write myself a note every year and put it in my desk until next year. I also have a ten-year version of this. Gives me an idea of how things were last time I had a birthday.

I have been putting the part I feel comfortable enough to put out in public here.

Dear Kath,

Well fifty-five, wow. It’s one of those numbers that means something besides what the speed limit on highways use to be in the US and still is in many parts.

This has been a year of serious ups and downs. I would not put it in the top ten of years I have lived. It was not the worst year ever. I think we both know which gets that honor. Nor has it been the best.

It was a year of some frustration on several fronts. Here’s to hoping that when we hit fifty-six those issues would be sorted out without new complications.

There were good points. A lot of fun at conventions and adventures through out. I mean you got to have lunch with Larry Hama, Steve Whitmire and Alice Cooper, which is a phrase I bet you never thought you would say. You amused people with your puppets. A couple got some Internet fame thanks to their owners. Did you ever think you would see one of your puppets sucking face with David Tennant? Or get to moderate a panel with the gang from Sesame Street?

I think our biggest disappointment was not getting everything done we wanted to do. I believe that if we start planning now, we will have all the things down for DragonCon next year but the build has to start soon. Remember 15 puppets is a lot of puppets.

At least you have learned your limits and know what you can and cannot do within a span of time.

So for the next year I proposals are exercise regularly, don’t let the house get away from you even if you are doing a lot of conventions, and feel free to create. Also let’s get that short story to Bob and the novel(s) done. And sell puppets on the Internet. You could make some money doing that.

You can do it! I believe in me.

love,
Kath

I am grateful for all the experiences I have had this past year.

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Posted By Kathleen David on September 8, 2018

I found out from the sports station I listen to on my radio in the kitchen that National Suicide Prevention week starts on my birthday this year. WFAN is doing a number of programs and special bumpers on mental health and being able to discuss mental health in public without stigma. They are having athletes talk about their struggles with mental health and the like. Good for them. Having this show up on a station that has a mostly male audience is a very good thing. They have probably the greatest demographic that needs to hear this message and know that they are not alone in this.

The website “To write love on her arms” which is a suicide prevention and mental health advocate group picked the phrase “Tomorrow needs you” for this years campaign. They are encouraging folks to tweet and the like on social media using the phrase “Tomorrow needs me…” then why you are needed which can be a double edged sword when you get down to it.

I am going to be writing about mental health this week but not tomorrow because I have a couple of birthday traditions that I have been doing for years. However the rest of the week will probably be about mental health.

Why? Because I firmly believe that it is a topic that needs to be talked about and brought into the light of day rather than hush tones in dark rooms. So many people need to know that they are not alone. Others are just as confused or sad or upset or not feeling anything but they know that’s not how they should feel.

If we talk about it, then others can see that people with mental health issues can function in society. They can hold down jobs even jobs with lots of stress. And maybe someone who is on the brink of doing something that cannot be taken back might go seek the help that they need.

I am an advocate for Mental Health. I do not shy away from the simple fact that on occasion my brain has not worked as it should and I needed a little help to get it back on track. I have been told in the past that I really shouldn’t make this sort of knowledge public because it might scotch my career(s) but if that is what sinks me, then I probably shouldn’t work for that group anyway.

My name is Kathleen O’Shea David and I deal with seasonal affected disorder along with bouts of serious depression. I have most of my life. Yes, I did try to kill myself a couple of time but I failed and I am very happy that I did fail. I got help from professionals, family and friends and I am still here today.

I am grateful for those who have helped me when I have been at my lowest.

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Posted By Kathleen David on September 6, 2018

In Peter Capaldi’s next to last episode of Dr. Who, he makes a speech that rings so true to me. If you want to know why I liked this past season of Dr. Who, it is speeches like this.

“Winning? Is that what you think it’s about? I’m not trying to win. I’m not doing this because I want to beat someone, or because I hate someone, or because I want to blame someone. It’s not because it’s fun. God knows it’s not because it’s easy. It’s not even because it works because it hardly ever does.. I DO WHAT I DO BECAUSE IT’S RIGHT! Because it’s decent! And above all, it’s kind! It’s just that.. Just kind. If I run away today, good people will die. If I stand and fight, some of them might live. Maybe not many, maybe not for long. Hey, you know, maybe there’s no point to any of this at all. But it’s the best I can do. So I’m going to do it. And I will stand here doing it until it kills me. And you’re going to die too! Some day.. And how will that be? Have you thought about it? What would you die for? Who I am is where I stand.. Where I stand is where I fall. Stand with me. These people are terrified. Maybe we can help a little. Why not, just at the end, just be kind?” — The Doctor

Just Be Kind is my mantra for living as a decent person on this crazy planet. It costs me nothing and, with any luck, helps others by known that they matter.

I learned it from my parents. I remember once asking my mother if she knew the store clerk that waited on us. She said no but it never hurts to be polite. She taught me by example to be kind to others no matter what they did. A custodian deserved the same kindness as the president of the university. They are people with different titles but still work for the university and do jobs that keep the university running.

This past weekend found us at DragonCon and in the Hyatt where I encountered one of the housekeepers who has watched Caroline grow up and really enjoys my puppets named Lucile. Honestly I think Lucile should have retired a number of years ago but she is still doing it and does a great job. This is the first time I have seen her since they started the renovations on the Hyatt International Tower and we were not on the same floor as we had been for years. She remembered me and was amazed how much Caroline had grown up in the intervening years. It was nice to see her. We walked to the elevator and heard her tell the woman working with her that we are a very nice family who comes down for DragonCon.

I remember at bowling once I was introduced to one of my fellow bowlers daughters who looked familiar but I couldn’t place where I had seen her. Afterward she told me that her daughter was the assistant manager at the local grocery store I go to and her daughter told her how much everyone there likes me because I treat them like people. I honestly don’t know any other way to treat people.

I remember kindnesses done for me over the years. People who did that little extra thing that made my life better. A kind word when things were not looking great. Those people this past weekend that helped me get puppets to their new owners. They didn’t have to help me, but they did and I am grateful for their help.

I am polite because I was taught to be polite to everyone. I try to be kind because it is the right thing to do. I try to help people where I can. I try to be a good person.

Just be kind. It is a simple but complex way to live one’s life and it works for me.

I am grateful that I learned to be kind at an early age.

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Posted By Kathleen David on September 4, 2018

I think the first puppet I got to an actor was Peter Davison and I was not there for the event but my good friend Stephanie was and delivered the puppet to him. Since then I have over the years given puppets to various people that I have admired. Some good friendships have come out of it and a lot of stories. Somewhere along the way this became my convention ‘thing’ and I have people asking which puppet am I thinking of getting to who at fill in the blank convention.

This year at DragonCon with the help of all the lovely folks who run the show, I managed to get three puppets to three people.
(more…)

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Posted By Kathleen David on August 30, 2018

We left Monday for Atlanta giving us time to get down here without a clock ticking in the back in our heads. We knew we had to get here early on Wednesday to have a hope of getting a parking place at the hotel. The drive down was more of an adventure than we would have liked adding about three and half hours to the drive. This was due to a number of accidents including a very large dump truck trying to mate with a tractor trailer, construction, and rain. The last obstacle was a red sports car that tried to get us to back end them in the insurance scam that has been going around. Thanks to Honda’s excellent breaking system and Peter’s lighting reflexes, it didn’t happen. As I said, more adventure than we needed.

Wednesday we got to the hotel we will be staying at and checked in knowing that the room was not going to be ready until the afternoon. Caroline spent the day with my parents and saw a really fascinating exhibit at the Carlos Museum on the Emory Campus on cats in Egypt. Peter and I went to the Center for Puppetry Arts to see the Dark Crystal exhibit, which is only open to members now and will open to the general public on Friday after the Dark Crystal Ball this evening.

It is a lovely and well-put together exhibit with lots of puppetry things to make any puppeteer drool a bit.

For me it went from really cool to total awesome when I turned the corner and saw something I had not seen in years.

A little background to my tale first.

Back in the 90s I landed a job at the Center for Puppetry Arts in the museum. First it was a job in but eventually I became a guide and the museum carpenter and jack of all trades.

In the museum one of our crowning pieces was a Mystic from Dark Crystal. His name was UrAc and he was the scribe of the Mystics. It is an amazing puppet. Now by the time I got there, there had been some bad decisions about placement and the like that had mostly been rectified but people being people and deciding that puppets were meant to be touched (we had signs all over the place that said other wise), UrAc’s nose was not in great shape and his tail was not either due to people petting him or pulling his tail.

I was given the task to create a barrier that would allow little children to see the puppet but would keep all but the most determined from touching it. It really took some doing because the “footprint” of the puppet was very odd. I did manage to create the structure they requested but it was a puzzle indeed.

UrAc was on this rather complex armature to support the weight of the puppet and give him a pose. There would be times that gravity would get the best of him and his head would slip off the armature. Someone would have to go in and put the head back to where it was suppose to be. I had the longest arms so I was elected UrAc’s keeper. There is just something about a puppet built by Henson that gives it a magic on its own. UrAc had glass eyes. When you picked up the head, the whole face would come to life as the light hit the eyes and they seemed to twinkle. It was amazing to see. I would let him look around a bit before putting his head on the armature until it slipped off again. I came to the conclusion that he got bored looking at one spot and want to look around a bit.

The salt, sweat and oils from a human hand is one of the biggest destroyer of foam. Over time puppet interiors will go ‘crumbly’ as the foam deteriorates from within and, if not covered with a fabric skin, without.

UrAc was not in great shape when we had to take him off the floor while they did asbestos abatement in the Center, which was a former school building. When they redid the whole museum into its second configuration, UrAc was not one of the pieces put back into the permanent exhibit partially due to size but his condition was continuing to deteriorate.

The last time I saw him, he was not in great shape. His latex was flaking. You could see the fiberglass skull peeking through his skin. It was sad. He was being used to figure out how to preserve the Henson puppets and prevent the damage that he had. I patted him on the head expecting never to see him again.

So turned the corner and what do I see but UrAc totally restored to his glory. I was so happy to see him. Peter says I said, “It’s my baby”. I thought I said, “It’s my buddy” but he’s right I could have said baby. It was such a strong emotional moment for me. Here was a puppet that I figured I would never see again due to damage and now it is in an exhibition for all to see looking like he did back in the day. Remember this puppet is now over 35 years old. Peter gave me a moment and I found myself talking to the puppet catching UrAc up on what happened since we parted. Silly I know but it made me feel good. I had a silly smile on my face for most of the rest of the day.

I am grateful that I saw UrAc again.

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