No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on March 21, 2020

Day six of the Homebound Saga and the weekend so do what you usually do on the weekend around your home.

Today is World Puppetry Day and the theme this year is Puppetry for Peace.

Years ago, I participated in the annual Bread and Puppet parade at their farm in Vermont. Around the farm were various puppet stages and many groups and individuals performing. There was one group from El Salvador that had a show that was about their belief that peace was possible in their country even at that time. It was a very positive message. It is one of those experiences that has stayed with me and shape me as a puppeteer.

Puppetry has been a part of my life as long as I can remember. I get asked often when did I get into puppetry and I tell them that I have always been. 

My favorite part of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood was the Neighborhood of Make-believe. I adored Kula, Fran and Ollie. I am glad I had younger brothers and sister so I could watch Sesame Street without any guilt. 

I am fortunate that I grew up in Atlanta for so many reasons. One of those was Vince Anthony and the Vagabond Marionettes. They performed at our elementary school more than once. Vince is the driving force behind creating the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta. 

I am proud that I worked there for a time. I took lessons there. I used their library and museum collection to help Neil and Dave with the Tragic Comedy or the Comical Tragedy of Mr. Punch. The Center for Puppetry Arts gets a thank you in that book. Neil also used something I told him about puppets going from felt to real in the book as well.

(Neil, little Neil, and me at DragonCon. From left to right Neil Gaiman wearing a leather coat and sunglasses. He is leaning on Little Neil the puppet who is wearing a leather coat and sunglasses. I am operating the puppet and wearing a blue sweatshirt.)

My first big puppet ‘project’ happened in May 1996 after the airing of the Doctor Who movie. The challenge came to make all the Doctors by DragonCon which was then held in July. I did it and that was the beginning of so many things for me.

Professional photo taken of me with my Doctor Who puppets. I am wearing a black sleeveless tunic and the puppets are in a circle in front of me with the first Doctor on the far left and the Second on the far right then the third on the left and the fourth on the right continuing with the fifth on the left and the sixth on the right and the seventh in the middle. On my lap is the eight doctor)

The first fannish puppetry slam piece I did at DragonCon was taking the song “It’s OK to be Gay” and changing it to “It’s OK to be Takei” after a state informed teachers they could no longer use the word gay in the schools. George told them to use his last name instead so they could skirt the ban. 

(From left to right Nicky who has green skin, black hair, and wearing an original series Star Trek red Shirt, Me wearing the Q outfit from Encounter at Farpoint, Rod as an Andorian wearing a blue science shirt.)

From that has come all kinds of silliness and opportunities that I would not have otherwise.

Puppets have given me happy memories over the years. A number of adventures happened because of puppetry. 

I am a puppeteer and proud of it.

I am grateful I have puppets in my life.

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Posted By Kathleen David on March 20, 2020

This one would have been a random thoughts before the coffee kicks in but I am on my second cup and my brain feels engaged.

It is Friday March 20, 2020. 

In my area bars and restaurants are closed. A number of them are waving the delivery fee to get food to your door from their kitchen. The local brew master is going a little crazy because he had a number of beers that were to premiere on St Patrick’s Day and April 1^st. The places that were basically take out are doing OK but were informed that they needed to have even fewer workers in the building as of today. That makes life hard for so many.

Bars are losing money hand over fist because they cannot sell their highest profit item being alcohol. I am wondering when we start to return to the new normal if alcohol sales are going to be less or more than they were before this all happened.

Gyms being closed is a real pain because a lot of people I know use exercise as a tension release. A number of gyms and the like are offering workouts online. Caroline and I are taking a walk at least once a day and are figuring out what we can do at home with what we have around. 

We are all feeling the mental stress of what is going on around us. The uncertainty of our future is not a comfortable feeling. 

Dealing with this stress is hard. There are the few that thrive on this but most of us don’t like the feeling we have in the pit of our stomachs right now. Or that our whole body feels stiff and painful due to stress. There is only so long the body can deal with it before something goes haywire. I know from experience this is so. I was getting to the point of being unstressed when this hit.

Self-care is more important than ever right now. You can’t help others if you are breaking down. Take a breath. If the weather permits, take a walk. Some of my friends are stress baking and feeling better. 

Some of my friends are trying to keep their weekly schedule in terms of getting up when they would get up for work, getting dressed and putting on make-up, giving themselves a feeling of normality. I think the more we can do to make our lives normal, the better we will be.

I have seen people ask what day it is and they honestly have lost track. When your usual activities are curtailed, it can be easy to lose track of what day it is since they blend together.

It is a weird time in the world right now. 

I believe we need to be here for each other as we can be. Do what we can for each other. And just be kind.

I am grateful for all the amazing friends who have checked in with me to make sure I am OK.

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Posted By Kathleen David on March 19, 2020

Or Day 4 of the housebound saga

If this were a snowstorm or even a hurricane, we would have at least some idea of when the light at the end of the tunnel was not the oncoming train.  Right now, we have an opened ended crisis with a lot of guessing as to what it next. 

On the positive side of the equation, unlike a heavy snowstorm or hurricane, we have power, Wi-Fi, running water, and gas.

I will admit to not doing well with open ended crises especially if I have no control as to what is going to happen next to me. 

As a stage manager I could handle a crisis like a champ. Did the same when I was working in publishing. I could look at a problem and break it down while sifting through the possible solutions and alternatives Even in the worst of times, I had a date when this would be over and I could move on with my life either being the opening of the show or the publication of a book.

Since I was a child I have not cared for the nebulous. I wanted to know what was going on and when it would happen. The opened ended was not my friend. I knew when school started and ended. I knew how many years I would be in school. I counted down to Christmas.

We are receiving daily updates from Caroline’s school as things kept shifting. She got some answers about a couple of things that she needed answers for. But a lot of the rest is still up in the air including when school will resume and how it will resume. And even when whatever happens, there is going to be a learning curve as both the students and teachers adjust.

I still have a clench in my stomach and my brain will not take a break from worrying because I have nothing solid that I can plan for.

I am glad that I have medication to take the edge off. If this is how I am now, I dread how I would be feeling without it.

So we wait to find out what is next. We do what we need to do as responsible citizens and human beings. I am trying to help by writing these essays given people something new to read if they care to.

And I really hate waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I am grateful for everyone who has done a kindness for another person.

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Posted By Kathleen David on March 18, 2020

Usually this evening Peter and I have our social activity for the week by bowling in a league at our local bowling alley. We have been doing this longer than Caroline has been alive. It is our one social constant in our lives. The people there have known us for years and watched Caroline grow up. We bowl with another couple and have fun talking about all kinds of topics with them. Then there are the friends we have made over the years that we see at the bowling alley. 

But this evening the lanes are dark and the alley is closed so we are at a bit of loose ends. 

And there is the question of how the rest of the league will play out as the number of days this may go on expands and contracts within hours.

My fingernails are short and have been most of my life. Until I was in my mid-twenties, it was because I chewed my nails incessantly. After that being in theater made it smart to keep them short. From that came a habit of keeping them short. 

Part of this I think stems from my mother always have short nails and no nail polish. She explained to me at a very early age, when I asked why she didn’t have long nails, she told me because she was a nurse, she needed to keep her nails short so nothing could get under them and possibly harm a patient. Nail polish was out too for the same reason.  

So I have short unpolished nails that get cut once they grown above my fingertip.

Does make handwashing easier which is something else I learned from my mother as to the proper way to get one’s hands thoroughly clean.

Today I am looking at making bread and soup, cleaning the cat boxes, finishing up a puppet, taking a walk with Caroline, and getting some writing done.

Peter is working on his novel and a few other writing assignments.

Caroline is doing school work, finishing an essay, taking a walk with me. and drawing.

Tomorrow is her third driving lesson. 

I am grateful for a beautiful sunny day with a pleasant temperature.

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Posted By Kathleen David on March 17, 2020

Aka Homebound Day Two

If this was a normal St. Patrick’s Day here in New York, alcohol would have been banned from the LiRR as of noon yesterday through to noon Monday. People would be packing into the trains to go into the city and either see or participate in the annual parade. Bars and Pubs would be getting ready for a busy day. I would have gone to Two Morrow’s Pub and gotten my annual corn beef and cabbage along with a pint of Harp.

But none of this is normal. The only reason to leave the house is to get food or medicine. Other than that there is not much going on up here in my end of New York. 

Or as I am going to see it, fewer distractions outside the house.

It does stink that I will have order online anything I need craft-wise. I am hoping my thread holds out. I do think I have enough supplies on hand to make what I want to make or I will figure out a way to fake it. Hardware stores being closed might be the bigger problem for me.

But there are projects to be done and lists to be completed so that is where I am putting my focus right now. 

I wonder how many novels are going to be finished during this social pause. I might actually get Nemo done. I will get the short story done for the next anthology I am in. 

I am grateful for my fabric stash.

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