Puddles, Negan, DragonCon, and my failure to serve you well as Citizen Journalist.

by Angela K. Durden
Technology inventor protecting creator's copyrights. Business writer, novelist, songwriter, and Citizen Journalist.


Not to be confused with Puddles Pita Party which involves some sort of lap dog with a bladder problem eating hummus and olives, Atlanta's own Puddles Pity Party is now known to the entire population of the U.S. who watches America's Got Talent.

(See Puddles' show audition here.)

But this article is not about the original seven-foot tall white male in white face Puddles The Clown or his Pity Party. It is about me going to DragonCon and not being the Citizen Journalist I promised I would be for you, Dear Readers of ROTW.

Handsome dude dressed as
Negan from The Walking Dead.

You see, I went to DragonCon Atlanta on Labor Day Weekend 2017 because my friend Linda dragged me.

"We're gonna see some weird sh**," she promised.

It is obvious Linda has no clue what I grew up around, so frankly, I was somewhat bored though there was this one fella...yeah...he was right handsome and I got a hug-and-a-pic with him. (Here is the Walking Dead Wiki about Negan.)

Can this fella pose or what?

Back to my apology about falling down on my job as Citizen Journalist. So, while mostly I was walking around and taking pictures and trying my very best to get into the spirit of the thing, there came a point where I was tired of holding my phone and I put it in my purse.

Shame. On. Me.

Of all people I should know that the best stories are not made, they simply often walk by just begging to be told. Such a story happened at DragonCon but because I was too slow I missed it. Let me assure faithful readers of ROTW that two wines, one champagne, and one White Russian had absolutely nothing to do with my lapse.

Here's what I missed documenting in a photo.

Puddles The Clown showed up in white face, but this Puddles was a black man in white face. I hesitate to say the man was African American as I did not hear his voice nor was I able to interview him to ask his heritage. So anybody reading this who takes offense at me mentioning the black man in white face needs to realize I am doing my best not to offend his racial heritage by calling him something he's not.

See, this guy could be visiting from South Africa where he is a citizen. To call him an African-American South African is both journalistically and factually incorrect.

Furthermore, I believe he was from way out of town because no African American in their right mind from the U.S. would ever insult white folks by showing up in white face and pretending to be a white male, right?

That won't happen, will it?

Picture from Wiki Commons

DragonCon Puddles did a fine job of looking serious and somewhat put out, that is, staying in character. In fact, when I saw him — I swear I ain't lying — he looked right in my eyes and just dared me to come say something to him so he could not speak to me.

Why oh why did I not jump all over that opportunity? I am so sorry you won't be able to read the silent interview.

So a picture of the real Puddles will have to suffice. You'll simply need to use your imagination to picture the black DragonCon Puddles in white face.