Irving
David was a perfect child.Just ask his mother.“If you have a perfect child,” she once said, “then you have a problem child.” Like most children, David received gifts of hand, sock, and marionette puppets. His parents saw that this was one toy that he enjoyed immensely. For such as David, it was a perfect gift for a loner.
His imagination made the strings of a marionette disappear; thus, he was amazed of the marionette’s movement seemingly without being touched. He could make his four legged marionette heal as it walked next to David’s side like a trained dog. Of course, David’s hand in one of his socks and a little of his imagination create a different kind of puppet. Unlike a marionette’s stone face that showed no expression, with a sock puppet David could literally squeeze emotion out of the sock.
His imagination made the strings of a marionette disappear; thus, he was amazed of the marionette’s movement seemingly without being touched. He could make his four legged marionette heal as it walked next to David’s side like a trained dog. Of course, David’s hand in one of his socks and a little of his imagination create a different kind of puppet. Unlike a marionette’s stone face that showed no expression, with a sock puppet David could literally squeeze emotion out of the sock.
Shadow puppets were the easiest to create. Using a lit wall and interfolding his hands and fingers, the shadow formed a character. For David, it was more fun to shine the goose-neck desk lamp onto a hanging white bed sheet. Through a mirror he could see the unlit side of the sheet allowed a shadow that was more define and crisper. Plus, he could make the shadow puppets smaller or larger by how close or far he stood to the bed sheet.
Puppets were also brought into David’s world by Mrs. Woods, David’s social worker at his school, and other therapists. They used puppets hoping that David’s emotions would come forward; even at least, make him talk. Maybe it was the era, maybe it was the trend of the times, David was given marionette after marionette.It seems odd that a therapist would use such an arduous style of puppet with it many strings.
Puppets were also brought into David’s world by Mrs. Woods, David’s social worker at his school, and other therapists. They used puppets hoping that David’s emotions would come forward; even at least, make him talk. Maybe it was the era, maybe it was the trend of the times, David was given marionette after marionette.It seems odd that a therapist would use such an arduous style of puppet with it many strings.
If David learned anything from marionettes, it was patience and persistence.Many times after his little brother played with his marionettes, David would have to untangle their strings. Just laying the marionette on the floor could cause a string to tangle. A marionette must always hang upright even when in storage. Once, three of David’s marionettes were hung from a hook above the back door of a car. Normally, this would not be a problem since they were upright. However, having all the car’s windows open made it an excruciating mess. Needless to say, that was the most intertwine knot of strings that looked like a Picasso painting of three crosses above a mesh and below the mesh were three abstract figures disarray with a foot there, hand here, another two feet over there, and three heads everywhere else. Still, David unscrambled the strings and separated the three marionette bodies through great zeal, tolerance, and endurance.
David’s first home made puppet was created when he was in sixth grade. He took an old pink and white stripe bath towel that his mother had cast off in her rag pile. The two ends of the towel were sewn together with thick white yarn for a back. Cutting cardboard out into an oval shape and glued inside the towel for a mouth. From a dry cleaners wire hanger, he uses the bottom section that was a hard cardboard tube to make a nose by inserting inside the towel from the top of the mouth to the top of the crown crafting a forehead. He then filled the head with newspaper. With the new formed mouth, he lined black and red felt creating a tongue and tonsils. Also with felt, he glued big blue eyes with black pupils finishing the face.
A puppet was born.
This was not a new toy. This was something real with a soul. David was an overly sentimental child. Such as after the chewing gum that his father gave David had lost its flavor, he would kiss the gum and say good-bye before discarding it. To him, this was something that came from his father, it was part of his father, and this gum had part of his father’s essence of his love. In other words: “This puppet was not a toy!”
When David inserted his arm into the once pink and white towel, and his hand fell in place to the oval shape cardboard inside, David’s arm did not reside inside; David’s arm was only occupy like holding a child. His arm could do nothing other than embrace. This puppet moved on its own, devoid of David’s mind or actions, even if the conversations would take place inside his head between this once towel and David. Mrs. Woods might call this duel-personality.
“My name is Irving,” said the towel puppet. “What’s your name?”
“David,” answer David.
“Like King David. That’s a nice name. I like it.”
“Me too. It is the only one I got. Unless you count my middle name Lee. I do not like that name.”
“Why’s that? Why don’t you like the name Lee?”
“It is like the pants. Lee pants company.”
“Well, David and Irving sounds better together than Lee and Irving. It’s nice to meet you, David.”
“It is great meeting you, Irving.”
This once pink and white towel now had a soul and his name was Irving.
Many days after amplifying their bond, David brought Irving out of his room and introduced him to his family. David’s older brother greeted Irving as recognizing him separate from David. David liked that and thought his brother was even more hip than anyone else he ever met. Richard, David’s younger brother, founded Irving “cool!”
“Let me try him. Let me try him.” Richard demanded.
And David’s parents were delighted to see their inward son show himself. They thought that even if it was through Irving, David was talking, plus, he was jovial and interactive. When David’s parents told Mrs. Woods about Irving, she thought it as just as a childhood imaginary friend. She was wrong; he was more.
Sitting outside on the Gunnell’s small cement front porch, David and Irving would talk. People who passed by didn’t pay any mind to a boy and his puppet. Those who did mind were the high school kids of St. George.
St. George High School sat at the end of the block where the Gunnell family lived. This was a small Catholic high school for boys. These high school boys came from all over the area. Majority of the boys came by public transportation which was two blocks on the other side of the school. It was rare to see any of St. George’s students pass by the Gunnell’s dwellings, with the exception of their track team.
Their track team varied from 8 to 12 boys usually wearing white tee-shirts and dark gym shorts. They all had on mid-calve white socks topped with a color strip and white gym shoes that cover their ankles. During the colder days, they wore gray sweat coats with hoods. These runners thought they owned the sidewalk. David learned to get out of the runner’s way. As David was walking back to his house, the runners from behind him would shove David to the ground. Even if David saw them coming from afar, he would cross the street to avoid their tramples. The group of runners would cross as well. St. George High School’s track team was a mean bunch.
As the track team ran by the porch where David and Irving sat, one runner called out, “Look at the baby with his doll!”
Another yelled, “He’s playing house by himself.”
And another runner ran up to the steps toward David and Irving and swung his arm at Irving. David and Irving lean back and screamed, “No!” They dodge the runner’s arm and his attempt of puppet-napping. The rest of the runners laugh as they passed by the Gunnell house.
David’s first home made puppet was created when he was in sixth grade. He took an old pink and white stripe bath towel that his mother had cast off in her rag pile. The two ends of the towel were sewn together with thick white yarn for a back. Cutting cardboard out into an oval shape and glued inside the towel for a mouth. From a dry cleaners wire hanger, he uses the bottom section that was a hard cardboard tube to make a nose by inserting inside the towel from the top of the mouth to the top of the crown crafting a forehead. He then filled the head with newspaper. With the new formed mouth, he lined black and red felt creating a tongue and tonsils. Also with felt, he glued big blue eyes with black pupils finishing the face.
A puppet was born.
This was not a new toy. This was something real with a soul. David was an overly sentimental child. Such as after the chewing gum that his father gave David had lost its flavor, he would kiss the gum and say good-bye before discarding it. To him, this was something that came from his father, it was part of his father, and this gum had part of his father’s essence of his love. In other words: “This puppet was not a toy!”
When David inserted his arm into the once pink and white towel, and his hand fell in place to the oval shape cardboard inside, David’s arm did not reside inside; David’s arm was only occupy like holding a child. His arm could do nothing other than embrace. This puppet moved on its own, devoid of David’s mind or actions, even if the conversations would take place inside his head between this once towel and David. Mrs. Woods might call this duel-personality.
“My name is Irving,” said the towel puppet. “What’s your name?”
“David,” answer David.
“Like King David. That’s a nice name. I like it.”
“Me too. It is the only one I got. Unless you count my middle name Lee. I do not like that name.”
“Why’s that? Why don’t you like the name Lee?”
“It is like the pants. Lee pants company.”
“Well, David and Irving sounds better together than Lee and Irving. It’s nice to meet you, David.”
“It is great meeting you, Irving.”
This once pink and white towel now had a soul and his name was Irving.
Many days after amplifying their bond, David brought Irving out of his room and introduced him to his family. David’s older brother greeted Irving as recognizing him separate from David. David liked that and thought his brother was even more hip than anyone else he ever met. Richard, David’s younger brother, founded Irving “cool!”
“Let me try him. Let me try him.” Richard demanded.
And David’s parents were delighted to see their inward son show himself. They thought that even if it was through Irving, David was talking, plus, he was jovial and interactive. When David’s parents told Mrs. Woods about Irving, she thought it as just as a childhood imaginary friend. She was wrong; he was more.
Sitting outside on the Gunnell’s small cement front porch, David and Irving would talk. People who passed by didn’t pay any mind to a boy and his puppet. Those who did mind were the high school kids of St. George.
St. George High School sat at the end of the block where the Gunnell family lived. This was a small Catholic high school for boys. These high school boys came from all over the area. Majority of the boys came by public transportation which was two blocks on the other side of the school. It was rare to see any of St. George’s students pass by the Gunnell’s dwellings, with the exception of their track team.
Their track team varied from 8 to 12 boys usually wearing white tee-shirts and dark gym shorts. They all had on mid-calve white socks topped with a color strip and white gym shoes that cover their ankles. During the colder days, they wore gray sweat coats with hoods. These runners thought they owned the sidewalk. David learned to get out of the runner’s way. As David was walking back to his house, the runners from behind him would shove David to the ground. Even if David saw them coming from afar, he would cross the street to avoid their tramples. The group of runners would cross as well. St. George High School’s track team was a mean bunch.
As the track team ran by the porch where David and Irving sat, one runner called out, “Look at the baby with his doll!”
Another yelled, “He’s playing house by himself.”
And another runner ran up to the steps toward David and Irving and swung his arm at Irving. David and Irving lean back and screamed, “No!” They dodge the runner’s arm and his attempt of puppet-napping. The rest of the runners laugh as they passed by the Gunnell house.
“That was rude,” said Irving. “I’m not a doll and I’m most certainly not a baby. What do they teach them at that high school?”
Irving’s comments made David laugh out loud.
They learn that sitting out in the open was not safe during early fall’s track season. The alternative was high above in the tree in front of the Gunnell’s house. Up in the branches David and Irving were not disturbed. They watched the track team run pass their front porch.
“They looked like a herd of animals running nowhere,” commented Irving.
David thought that Irving was right. They always run together in one pack. There was no lead or trailer of the runners; just one pack.
Irving asked, “What’s the purpose of human’s running? These boys run away from their school just to run right back to it. Not very quick, are they?”
“I do not know,” answered David. “Maybe they are practicing running away from their bullies.”
“They have bullies?” said Irving. “I thought they’re the bullies.”
One time David miscalculated the passing of St. George’s track team and was out on his front porch with Irving. As the group bullies ran by, one called out, “Look at the sissy playing house.”
Another shouted, “Faggot!”
Again, the rest of the pack laugh saying, “Yeah, a faggot and his dolly.”
As David and Irving watched the runners turn the corner at the end of the block, one boy from the back of the pack turned off and headed back toward them. This runner’s black hair bounced as he came up to them. While running in place, he said to David, “Don’t mind them. Those guys aren’t very smart. They’re just jealous of your great looking puppet.”
His words were accented as his feet hit the same spot of the sidewalk over and over. His face look kind as he smiled. His brown eyes were like a puppy-dog’s eyes. His dark five o’clock shadow on his cheeks and chin made him looked older than the other runners.
Still smiling, he asked, “Where did you buy that puppet?”
David stammer his words, “I-I-m-made him.” “You made that puppet?”
Nodding yes, Irving shook his head up and down quickly.
“That’s really cool. What’s his name?”
This time Irving responded. “My name is Irving.”
“It’s like his alive. That is so neat! Well, I better catch up with the team. See you later.”
And off he went.
Irving’s mouth fell wide open in shock. “Did you see that? He thinks I’m neat!”
David watch as the runner turn the corner and disappear. He notice how hairy the runner’s legs were. How his coarse curly black hair stood outward from his legs unlike his father’s that were finer and closer to his legs.
“He was really nice,” said Irving.
“That he is,” answer David.
After that, no more hiding in the treetops, David and Irving sat on the porch steps waiting for St. George’s track team. As before there was the same taunting. In the same running position when they first met; There followed the rear of the pack was the dark hair boy with the hairy legs. He winked his eye and called out, “Hey there Irving!”
From then on, each time they pass David and Irving, the dark hair high boy with the hairy legs would acknowledge by a wave of his hand, a nod, or a wick. David would smile back.
And Irving saw that this was good.