Memory Corner 5

The Puppeteer

The puppeteer came to the projects a few times a year. No one knew if he had a schedule. One day, one kid would tell another that the puppet man was setting up his theater by the Chavez house or by Kike's house or who knows where. It was never the same location. But the word of mouth was always the same, and all it took was one kid to spread the word and soon dozens of kids would grab a seat in front of the puppet theater. Early birds got right up front. Late comers had to sit in the back, behind the big kids usually. 

On that day, the last day it turned out to be, my friends and I got front row seats sitting there on the lawn of the Jimenez house. We watched the frail old man gingerly set up his puppet theater on the TV tray he used as a foundation. After the set up, he gently lifted the puppets from his leather bag and place them on the stage. There were several puppets dressed like from the time of Jesus, and lastly, there was the Jesus puppet with a wire halo above his head. 

Once everything was set, the puppeteer acknowledged the crowd of kids with a bow, and they applauded as he disappeared behind the theater. The red curtains parted with a squeak, and the old man spoke through one of two puppets on stage. "Jesus is coming," he said. The other puppet answered, "Lord be praised." The puppeteer changed voices with each character on the stage. Two more puppets joined the first two. "Rejoice, rejoice," they cried in joy, "the Lord Jesus cometh. Yonder. Look." 

The Jesus puppet rose into the air from behind the stage and floated there with a huge sun behind him. The sun was cardboard, from the look of it, with yellow glitter glued to it, causing a sparkling from the real sun hitting it. At that moment, I realized that's why he chose this spot: It captured the sunlight to add sparkles to his cardboard sun to silhouette the wooden Jesus doll. 

The crowd cheered and clapped. One of the puppets on stage said, "Hail, Jesus, come to save us sinners." A second puppet said, "By the brilliance of the sun does the Son of God arriveth." A third puppet added, "Children, be ready, for Jesus is coming to save the and take you to Heaven. He will arrive in the chariot of the sun."

And with that, the puppeteer packed up his theater and placed the puppets back in the leather bag. He bowed to the children and pointed to the sky with a smile. Then he rolled the wheeled cart carrying his set up and bag. 

It was about noon, and the older kids went off to play, but the younger kids looked up at the sun, at first shielding their eyes with their fingers until their eyes adjusted to the glare as best as they could stand the intensity. "There's Jesus," said one, and more kids tried to withstand the fierce stabbing of the sunlight. "I see him," cried another. Then some started crying, while others rubbed violently at their eyes as if trying to erase some ink blot stained on their vision. 

Soon parents started approaching the kids and asking what was wrong. Too late. The damage was done. Permanent blotches in their vision. Some small, others not so small. The eye doctors told them that their young eyes would adjust to the spot in their eyes, almost until it looked like it wasn't there anymore. Much like older adults with floaters adjust their vision till their eyes see right through the spots in their vision. The spots don't go away. Your brain simply adjusts to it. 

This information didn't comfort the parents. They gathered all the parents in the projects and banned the puppeteer from ever returning. Some parents even made police reports. Rumors had it that the puppeteer would be arrested if he tried to return. 

We never saw or heard from the puppeteer again. There are lots of projects in the Los Angeles County. And there are lots of kids in those projects. I'd like to think he's still out there, teaching of Jesus standing in the sun, if you just look for him.