Al and Dexter meet Dieter-Lee and Big Fred

Dieter-Lee and Big Fred came to Florida for a swim with the dolphins and we got to spend some time together yesterday. Their trip was made possible in part by the generous contributions of the ventriloquist community when I first took on the project to build Big Fred for Dieter-Lee. You can find accounts of this project in earlier posts to this blog.

We met the entire family and had a wonderful day.


From left to right are Dane, Susan, Dan, Dieter-Lee, Sebastian, Big Fred, and Michael.

Susan and Judy (my wife) found that they have a lot in common, not the least of which is the profound experience of raising, caring for, and loving a child with special needs. A strong bond and close friendship formed between them almost immediately.

We were joined in this visit by three other members of the Central Florida Ventriloquist's Association. Dan Bratton, Johnny Parisi, and Don Woodford were there, and they all brought ventriloquist figures.

Dieter-Lee had a great time going from puppet to puppet and getting us all to make them talk. Dieter-Lee can speak, but he doesn't say much, and usually it is to repeat something he hears others say.

Yesterday was one of the best days I've had in a long time, and I usually have really good days.