Surprise!

I had an unexpected visit from an old friend last week. And it came in a most unusual manner. This Toby Jug was delivered to me by Bob Abdou with a request that I repair the deteriorating leather under the mouth. We knew the puppet had been made by Col. Bill Boley, but since the unit is totally sealed I was not prepared to find Bill's business card inside the puppet! After all, no one would ever see it there - except perhaps a person removing the leather in order to replace it...and in this case, that person was me.

Bill knew when he glued his card inside the mouth before installing the leather that it would go forever hidden unless the leather was removed. I can see him smiling now as I unsealed his mini time capsule. I know my mouth dropped open when I discovered the hidden card. I'm almost convinced I also heard Bill say, "Howdy, Clinton - surprise - great to see you again!"

This will be a fun project....It will be like having a good friend keeping me company as I work to restore this 35 year old puppet (Bill had written the date "04/74" on the card).