PUPPET SHOW!

Dane and Aubrey put on a mermaid puppet show for me the other day. They set up chairs, put their stuffed animals in them, and kindly left me a seat in the back row.

With my video camera discreetly in hand, I taped the show.

Here's the gist of it: eight minutes of weird voiced mermaids and mermen introducing themselves -- saying they were best friends with the partner they were introduced with (boy/girl) and either married or going to be married (whisper whisper whisper behind the table/stage). Over and over and over again.

The End.

And they all had one of the following names: Dagger, Talina, Ariel and Blue Horizon (or something like that).

Now, I like meeting the cast as much as the next person, but by about minute 5 (OK, actually, by minute 2) I was waiting for some rising and falling action -- some plot, if you will.

Of course, then I reflected on my own writing hurdles and wondered if telling a really slow story that's not going anywhere is just in my genes -- and, consequently, in theirs.

It's not that I was bored, per se, but for the next round I decided to gently nudge them in a more challenging direction. For the next day's show I mentioned they might want a plot.

My report back to you: On their own, they devised a team of good guys against a couple of bad guys. There was a battle, and the good guys won -- and the grandma and grandpa mer-couple were proud of them. There was still the weird voices to contend with, but I have to leave them with some artistic license.


Video available for purchase upon request.