Rachel Hennelly, Street Performer Extraordinaire

I finally met someone today with whom I've been crossing paths for more than a decade.

Rachel Hennelly is a multitalented performer and artist who's something of a local legend in the New York area; she's a juggler, an actress, a dancer, a puppeteer, and a puppet maker. She has performed on the streets of New York and at medieval fairs and special holiday events all across the region. And for the past twelve years, I've constantly crossed paths with her unexpectedly! I had always thought that she would be an interesting person to write an article about, and, because I kept encountering her all over the place, I figured that it was some kind of weird destiny that I would.

Earlier this year, I managed to find out how to contact Ms. Hennelly, and I wrote her a letter expressing interest in interviewing her and writing an article about her. I also sent her some samples of my published work. Ms. Hennelly called me back to tell me that she was flattered by my interest in her, but that she doesn't give interviews. It turns out her brother Robert is a professional writer, and she said that if she ever decides to speak to someone in the press, it will be him. She was very nice about it, though, and I thought that was that.

Today, I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; after leaving the museum, I went outside to look at the artists selling their work on the sidewalk when, lo and behold, there was Rachel Hennelly selling some marionette puppets she had handcrafted herself. I said hello and I told her who I was.

We had a very nice conversation about a lot of stuff, but Ms. Hennelly was particularly interested in my writing career; she liked those writing samples I'd sent her back in March. I found her to be a very nice woman who's very passionate about what she does. Someone I know who's met Ms. Hennelly told me that she was kind of a "tough cookie," but I had no trouble talking to her at all.

I had to continue on, so our conversation was brief, but I'm glad I finally got to meet a woman I'd only seen in performance several times and had spoken to once on the telephone. I think she's pretty cool myself; she's very devoted to everything she does, and she does a lot. So if you see a blonde juggler or puppeteer in New York's Central Park, you're seeing Rachel Hennelly doing what she loves. Take a moment and watch; you'll be glad you did! :-) :-)