Oh This? Just a Woman and Her Mini Me Marionette Feeding a Squirrel

Image: Nathalie Kalbach

You may have seen this photo of 85-year-old civic activist Doris Diether of West Village, New York City, feeding a squirrel with a marionette that looks like herself.

The story behind the old lady and her "mini me" marionette is actually an interesting one. It all started one day at the park, where puppeteer Ricky Syers was performing with his handmade marionette, according to Nina Golgowski of NY Daily News:

"One day she comes up to me and whispers, 'I have something for you,'" he recalled.

Opening a scrap book she revealed old newspaper clippings and articles she had written on marionettes back in 1974. Articles more recently added to her collection were ones she had seen on Syers' work, which she cut out and saved for him.

The gesture floored him.

Syers proceeded to build Diether her own marionette, made to look just like her "featuring Diether's short, white hair and rosy cheeks ... complete with handbag, cane and floral blouse and skirt."

"She's ... known as the woman who feeds the squirrels," Syers said to NY Daily News, "Now, her little marionette feeds the squirrels."