Like Blank Paper

Imagine a blank piece of paper. I fold it into the shape of an airplane. I throw it into the air. It flies.

That's how I see Mariela Sinti. A nineteen-year old without experiences. No particular preferences. No knowledge of knowledge. She is endowed with certain capabilities. She can walk and talk when made to do so, but she lacks initiative to explore and the purpose of mental tools is not known to her.

Wouldn't it be awesome if somebody could mold her into a sensitive, compassionate young woman? Hey, the future of awesome doesn't belong to Comcast alone. And while I hate their arrogant commercial that claims that having command of hundreds of TV channels makes tomorrow "awesome," I have seen awesome - mainly produced by nature - and I yearn to write awesome lines for the little gypsy girl with the sad eyes.


I haven't started yet. But in my eagerness to give her a great life, I have taken steps to promote her. Mariela has fans. Fans who would like to help with plot lines. Mariela has a Facebook presence. A blog devoted to her existence. A photo album.

I might have jeopardized her innocence. There are people who ask, "How's the puppet thing going?"

On top of it all, I have just sent Mariela's photograph to Monica Leo, founding member of the Eulenspiegel Puppet Theater in West Liberty, Iowa, and Festival Director for the Great Plains Puppet Train Festival. She will put her portrait in the program booklet.

Yes, friends, Marcela Sinti, the marionette without a plot, will fly to Iowa near the end of September and spend four days among skillful puppeteers and their charges. She will be at the Great Plains Puppet Train Festival www.puppetspuppets.com/festival to learn from the best. Well, wait, I am getting ahead of myself: I will be there to learn from the best. Mariela will be surrounded by good karma and good communicators.

Maybe pre-accomplishment popularity is not so bad. Cell phones and laptops make self-promotion quite easy in today's social media environment and many young amateurs perform before their time. The difficulty lies in "living up to the hype." Will we - she and I - eventually be able to channel my intentions into a good performance?

Last year, when I was sick and unsure of my future, I made a list of things I want to accomplish. Producing a short YouTube video with Mariela Sinti is on this list.

I will be open to suggestions about plot, as I learn the hows and whys of script and mechanics, but the end result must develop without force and impatience. It will happen when the time is right. Maybe the Great Plains Puppet Train Festival will inspire me to scribble fascinating words onto the little blank paper airplane. Maybe I will go from being a manipulator to being a puppeteer. Maybe Mariela will go from popular nobody to stage presence.