Finger Puppets, The Only Substitute For Television

Lately we’ve been missing some of our Baltimore family. We have also been wanting to send Timmy a gift. The fusion of these two emotions has created an idea that is now subject of this article. First I need to say that the reason I wanted to send Timmy a gift is because during our previous visit to Baltimore, on our way to Keswick, we also gave him a gift. This former gift was an official Appalachian Bible College t-shirt. Cool? Yes, but Timmy’s impression did not match the hype that I awarded the mystery gift before he received it. My five-year-old brother being unmoved by the apparel gave a peculiar grimace and asked “do you have something else for me?” I did not, the closest thing I could offer to another gift was an I.O.U. for a future gift of greater splendor. He accepted, after pouting in a corner, and now you are caught up to the present so I can continue with my original story. I wanted to give Tim a gift, and it certainly had to surpass the ABC t-shirt. Katie and I being the big spenders that we are went to the most prestigious children’s toy store in the area--Dollar Tree. We searched up and down the designated aisles for the perfect toy. Some were too dangerous, others too small so that he would lose it as young people often do, still, some were too large and would be pricey to ship to Maryland. Naturally, we settled on finger puppets. Because what child doesn’t need a new set of miniature puppets to put on his candy laced hands? They looked entertaining and easy to ship, score. But, Katie and I are creative people and when put together we morph into one mind and our creativity ascends to levels which would put Martha Stewart to shame. The concept we developed in a matter of seconds was perfect. We don’t send the finger puppets, instead we use them to create a video that can be e-mailed to the kids.

That very night we began set design: cutting holes in and coloring a shoe box. We also recorded the audio for the movie. Production would have gone ahead as scheduled if it weren’t for some equipment malfunction in the form of dead camera batteries. It happens to the best of us, be not dismayed, filming continued the next day. In our modern time of digital cameras, high speed internet and youtube.com we were able to finish the project within an hour. This very movie is available for viewing right now. Before you watch I must say, it looks high class but the entire process only cost $1. You can see it here on MattGoesToCollege by pressing play below.

In less whimsical news we have occupied some of our free time with DMV visits. For most people the phrase “visit the DMV” is similar to the sound that a rusty nail makes as it is drug across a chalkboard. Not so in Beckley, West Virginia. The DMV here was a blissful day at the beach compared to Baltimore. To begin it was near empty, did not wreak of sweat and feet (always a plus) and the employees were friendly. We exchanged our driver’s license’ for $6 total and were out in 15 minutes. We are officially West Virginians now.

Keen readers will have deduced that being at home gives us ample free time. We are looking forward to starting school and work. Not too long ago I wished for a month long vacation. Now I can say that two weeks is a long enough vacation as I’ll ever need. It’s crazy what people will do for entertainment when all their time is open and they have no television.

Katie and I hope we’ve made you smile with our blog. Come back often as we fill you in on all the juicy happenings in our lives.