Rock puppets

Most people thought he was either stupid or crazy. They’d watch him for
a few seconds, then shake their heads and walk away. Children weren’t even entertained by him. They too eventually walked away, bored and sometimes weeping.

He kept the plays going, though. Audience or no audience, the plays had
to be performed. To get ready, he’d join his thumb with his four fingers,
as you would in a sock puppet, then he’d carefully place a fist sized
rock on top of his hand. He’d stand there balancing it for a while until
he was comfortable, then begin his play.

When his rock puppet spoke, his fingers would move up and down causing the rock to tumble off and clatter to the ground. Every time this happened he’d scurry after it, pick it up, return to his spot, and re-place the stone upon his hand. It would fall off after every dialogue, and he’d pick it up and put it back on every time it fell. He never laughed at these mistakes but instead assured anyone around him that he was practicing and only a beginner, that a rock puppeteer needed many years to train (not just the short decade that he’d had) until they eventually became a master.

Originally published June 21, 2000