My Father Died, So I Started A Puppet Show on YouTube

Grief takes many forms—even a mustachioed dummy.

My father died on January 21st, 2025. I’ll spare you the details of his last days in the hospital and his gruesome demise because I don’t want to go back there. It pains me, but it’s time to turn the page. I don’t think he would like me walking around in a gloomy malaise, constantly using his death as an excuse not to get things done.

I did all the things expected of a grieving son. I drank heavily, I wept, and I holed myself in a room watching endless hours of mindless television in his honor, but after his memorial and my speech, which incidentally brought the house down, forward is the only direction.

I’ll never forget Dad. He was a brilliant man who was always ten steps ahead of me, no matter how clever I thought I was. I based my life on what he thought of me, and now that he’s gone, I feel like I owe him something more than what I gave him while he was alive.

Coming out of grief is a perplexing thing. I can’t speak for everyone, but there was an intense feeling of guilt for me. I thought it was my duty to carry a visible sadness for the rest of my life, and when I started feeling better, I felt like I betrayed him. This was a temporary feeling, however.