There’s something about unconventional friendships that warm our spirits. This video produced by AARP’s new studio tells the story of Ricky Syers, a labor worker in New York City with a passion for art and puppets.
Ricky meets Doris Diether, an 86-year-old retired columnist, at one of his puppet performances in the park. She’s interested in puppets, and she brings him a couple of her past articles that she’d written for the paper.
“So the next time he saw me, he said, ‘Oh I have something for you.’ I sat down next to him, and he pulled out the little Doris puppet,” Doris says.
“I decided to make a marionette of her, just to wow her, like, all right, you want to be nice to me, well, here we go,” Ricky says.
That’s where the unlikely friendship starts.
Ricky’s puppets are made of basic materials like tin foil, wood, string, rubber hose and glass marbles, but they have great meaning to him. His craft has gotten him through rough days as a skilled laborer.
“I would rather die on the street as a street performer than try to create some sort of life that’s going to satisfy someone else,” he says.
Doris, meanwhile, enjoys meeting new people. Age doesn’t matter. She just wants people to be interesting. And Ricky certainly is.
“I have no sense of age somehow,” she says. “I can’t tell whether they’re 25 or 45. When I go to the park, any number of people from different groups and ages and so forth come over and greet me. If the person is interesting, that’s what I relate to, not whether they’re black or white or 60 or 15.”
The two end up performing together, and Doris creates her own routine with her look-alike puppet. The crowds gather. They love it, and so does Doris.
“Her friends are telling me that, you know, since this puppet, man, you know, it’s like she’s getting younger,” Ricky says.
What’s more, Ricky enjoys their companionship, too. “I went from having to play gigs and pour concrete, to, ‘I’m doing this, and people are putting money in my hat, and people feel like this.’ I was just overwhelmed,” he said.
The video is a strong reminder to do what you love, and embrace friendships wherever you may find them.
