A Cherished Gift

One of the best material gifts I have received is a fox hand puppet made especially for me. My dear puppeteer friend Enid made it a few years before she passed on. It is special because there will never be another puppet exactly like it. I named it "Franky".

Franky is adorable and a delight to use in performance. He is my favorite puppet and is one of the things I would take with me should I have to evacuate. Since he is handmade, he has more character than my store-bought puppets. He has become my go-to "signature" puppet - the one I am most associated with. I've used him in my own shows and in events at the puppet theater.

Enid coached me on developing a voice for Franky. The children I perform for adore him, as do I. Back in 2007, I told Enid that I would like to make my own puppet show and the first story I wanted to do was "The Cat and the Fox" by Aesop. She got straight to work on puppets for it. Enid measured my hand for them so it would fit perfectly. The cat she made me also turned out well and I love it, but I was particularly impressed by Franky. Enid seemed to enjoy it when I told her about how I used the puppets and the audiences enjoyed them.

Enid passed away around 2016 from cancer. Her memory continues in the puppets she created. A piece of her lives on in the show she helped me develop - a show that continues to delight audiences over a decade after it premiered. Now that she is no longer here, there will never be another puppet exactly like Franky. He is irreplaceable and very much cherished.

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