This puckish puppet has been playing hide and seek all over Mexico this summer.
Meet Rodney. He and his friend Judy Bryson have been working together to bring a little bit of …
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This puckish puppet has been playing hide and seek all over Mexico this summer.
Meet Rodney. He and his friend Judy Bryson have been working together to bring a little bit of back-to-school magic to children this summer.
Once a week, Bryson hides Rodney somewhere in town, posts a clue of his whereabouts on Facebook and encourages families to go find him. At every location, Rodney and Bryson wait to greet the winners, and all other participants, with a sweet treat.
The idea first came to Bryson while she was reconnecting with her lifelong friend and fellow Mexicoan, Connie White.
“We were talking on the phone and she was telling me about Rodney and some of the adventures that she had been on with him when they were in Alaska,” Bryson said. “One thing led to another and before you know it, I’m saying, ‘Rodney can have adventures here in Mexico.’”
Bryson is a retired teacher who taught at Mexico High School in the business department for 31 years. She and White both wanted to make the end of summer extra special with the help of that playful puppet. The reward for finding Rodney is a free Sonic sundae or ice cream cone from McDonalds. For the rest of the seekers, Rodney and his team always have extra popsicles waiting.
“It’s just so fun and we’re just having a really good time with it,” Bryson said. “We have a heart for families.”
They first hid Rodney on Aug. 2 near the book drop at the Mexico-Audrain County Library. On Aug. 5, Rodney was spotted at the Jefferson Street Mini Park. Since then, he has been to Mexico High School, the Audrain County Historical Museum and Fairground Aquatic Center.
Today, Rodney is hiding somewhere in town.
With school back in session next week, Rodney will be done playing hide and seek after he is found — for now, anyway.
Bryson and White will host Popsicles and Pictures with Puppets at the Hardin Park gazebo on Aug. 29 at 11 a.m. Rodney will be joined by other puppet friends who are ready to hear about children’s first week back to school and pose for photos.
“We just wanted to do something fun,” Bryson said. “We wanted to do something simple, because sometimes it’s those simple things that mean the very, very most.”
