Puppets?

Of all the puppets all the puppets I grew up with, there are a few I remember enjoying. There were plenty that I didn’t like at all: Captain Kangaroo’s Mr. Moose, Fran Allison’s Kukla and Ollie,the residents of Mr. Roger’s neighborhood (creepy and ugly to boot), Howdy Doody who lived in Doodyville (how could anyone like someone who lived in Doodyville???) I don’t know if I could call the Banana Splits my least favorite, but they were/are awful.
As a child, puppets frightened me. As an adult, I realize it’s not the puppets that I disliked, it’s the puppet master…those that control the lives of others with no regard for right and wrong, and there’s plenty of that going in our world.

The horrific situation at the Struck Out Ranch brings this post to my blog. Fans of that @#$%^&!!* horse murdering SOB are still singing his praises and crying about his mistreatment. This may seem like no big deal; except they are posting on the internet and talking to reporters, which is then posted on the internet. Nothing travels and grows faster than malarkey on the internet. Someone is going to read the BS, believe it and pass it on.

On top of the mess, I realize that national news did not pick up this story. Twenty one horses in Florida die and it’s on the news everywhere. One hundred plus horse die in a small Midwestern town and it’s hard to find a mention of it anywhere, except locally. Money is definitely a puppet master.

Advertizing is another scary form of puppetry. The corporations tell us, through advertizing we must have this or that; BUY! BUY!! BUY!! And we run right out and get it. It doesn’t matter if we don’t have the cash. We can charge it. Pay later. And boy oh boy do we ever!
But the puppet syndrome doesn’t begin or end there. I have to admit my apathy towards government, particularly federal government, makes me a bit of a puppet. There was a time when I made waves, big waves, on all kinds of fronts. It’s not my apathy, fear or ignorance that keeps me from participating in and actively pursuing change. I’ve come to realize that making changes in what immediately surrounds me is the best I can do right now.

It scares me, though, to see our youth growing up apathetic. It’s really important to be an example to the kids. We must show our children ways to make a difference, in a good way.

I do actually like a few puppets: Topo Gigo,Lambchop. And who could forget Jim Henson’s Muppets or Edgar Bergen's Charlie McCarthy?

I have offered just a few examples of puppet mastery. Look around. Is there a puppet theater in your neighborhood? Someplace you can make a change?

Don’t be like Mr. Stick, doing nothing and hiding in a sea of woodies.