Boot and Pretty, Happily Married and Still Living in Canada

I recently received a very detailed email from Mr. Bob Dermer, who is the man behind the Boot!  Bob is the puppeteer who controlled Boot.  He gave Boot all those great highly animated movements that conveyed to the audience Boot's upbeat, cheerful and friendly personality.  Being an "insider" Bob maintained contact with Boot and Pretty after the Readalong series was completed and he very kindly provided me with this update in an email which I received last week

Dear Nick (and Justine),

To be completely honest, when the show ended, Boot and Pretty's relationship was under a considerable amount of strain. Sadly, she'd fallen victim to an all-too-common trap and Pretty was tending to be a bit full of herself. None of us, including myself, gave Boot much of a chance. She was going to be a star. Bigger than Liza, bigger than Liz. She seemed to think that her good looks were going to buy her the world. She was a television star. She was really Pretty. She had all of these patent leather boys sniffing around, but they only seemed to want a pretty little upper to pair up with and whatever else a poor innocent sole could give them. But even they, with their shiny good looks and fancy tassels soon realised, that through it all, she had maintained her high moral values and she really meant to save herself for the 'right' man. The final lesson arrived one day in the shape of a snooty English leather riding boot, who threw her common party pump family background in her face, and told her she'd never be accepted into "high heel society".

  That was kind of a wake-up call for Pretty. She soon realised that see never really wanted to be a part of that crowd anyway; full of rhinestones and acrylic heels and flashing stilettos. She wanted a mate that was just a regular guy. Someone who could be funny and animated, dynamic, polite and respectful, genuine in every way. Someone who would always leave you with a smile, or a new insight, but always feeling good about yourself.

     Being very bright as well as pretty, Pretty immediately realised that she'd had that she had had that special dreamboot right beside her all along, and once she opened her heart to him, Boot's love just rushed right in and filled her to her uppers. He'd always adored her but never wanting to impose on her, waited and hoped patiently that someday this moment might come to pass.

   Of course, it was meant to be from the beginning, and their love for each other grew stronger with each passing year. The final wrap party for the series was also the moment that Boot and Pretty chose to announce their engagement. They were married the following spring. The very next year after the series ended Boot and Pretty were offered positions with a prestigious museum in Hull right on the river, just across the river from the National Capital of Canada. They live quiet, contented lives, full of children and have just been blessed with their fourth grandshoe, a pretty little pump who looks just like her Gramma. She's called Grace.

   Although Boot and Pretty make few public appearances they still share their love of reading with all around them, and they both bring peace, love and laughter to all who care to read, look and listen with their hearts.

  Boot, Pretty, their whole family and the whole Read-a-long gang, send you and Justine their love and best wishes. They are thrilled to know that they have touched your hearts and want you to know that now, you are in their hearts too.

Credit for this wonderful and factual story goes to Mr. Bob Dermer.  I want to thank Bob for taking time out of his busy schedule to bring me and my girlfriend up to date on the status of Boot and Pretty.  We are so happy to hear that Boot and Pretty ended up together and continue to live a very happy life in Canada.

Also, a big thanks goes out to my e-friend Rick Ambrozic for letting me use these rare and highly coveted pictures of Boot on this page.  Rick has an outstanding website dedicated to Canadian Children's shows of the late 1970's and early 1980's.  You can visit Rick's site simply by clicking on this link