The RHLC!

[Nekoshema]

In fact, there's a church down the street from where I live that's doing a labyrinth walk once a week for Lent. I was a little tightly wound after work, so I went in to check it out. And a couple of times while I was walking the labyrinth, I found myself thinking back to part of Richard's speech: "Forgive your anger...forgive your guilt, your shame, your sadness. Embrace and open up your love...your joy, your truth...and most especially your heart."

that's cool you got to do that. i've heard about church's doing stuff like that, always wanted to give it a go. i figured it's the same as meditation, it's a time to clear your mind and let it whatever thoughts enter your mind. stuff like that really helps, it refreshes you in a way.
this might be a little off topic, but when my cat died last week, i felt so sad, but not like crying, as i sat in the dark in my room looking at pictures of him, i heard Richards words [my favourite words actually]
'i wish there was some way to get rid this pain that we're all feeling, this enormous sadness that we all feel. but there are no words. there's nothing any of us can tell each other. accept to be there. to support, to love, to have someone to hug. and it takes time. some times lots of time. but there is solic and there is joy, in knowing that Jim has returned home... for a little while. and that each of us will return there someday. each onto his own'
those words, whenever someone i know dies, i remember those words, and for some reason i can't help but smile. [and i really like how he added the 'each onto his own' i know it's a stupid after though but i like it. ]

 

[MartyMuppets]

So very sorry about your cat

I hope you feel more at peace now. It seems as if Richard had given you condolences in a special unique way.

 

[Nekoshema]

yea, i guess he kinda did

or i've gone round the bend to full on insanity

 

[Muppet Newsgirl]

I'm so sorry about your cat, Nekoshema...it's always really rough to lose a pet.

Yeah...it's really interesting. Richard gave that speech in May of 1990, and it's still providing some comfort and spiritual balm for people nearly 20 years later. That's the mark of a good speech - it inspires people long after the speaker's stepped down from the podium or away from the microphone.

On that one vein, Marty, when I stop to think about it, a good portion of that speech, with the reflections on forgiveness and letting go...that all really ties in with Lent and everything, especially now that we're heading into Holy Week. It's all about death and rebirth, letting go of what's tying us down and opening up the heart and the inner truths. That's just my thoughts on the subject.

 

[analeisa]

yea, i love your tumblr, my sister does too [she checks it almost daily] yesterday, she had a really bad day, and she went on your tumblr and it cheered her up [also, she cheered when she saw the new pictures ]

Aww, that makes me really happy. Thank you! I need relaxers after a bad day so I'm glad I could provide that for your sister. It's cool that your sister likes Muppet/Muppteers too. My sisters are sick of me talking about them.

Anyway, I wish that I could be more like Richard too. I need to be more out-going and be able to show and know that I'm work it like he could. I have a bad habit of just keeping things to myself. I'm sorry you're cat died though. Pet deaths are always hard. I don't think hearing Richard's words make you crazy. I've had experience with death and I do believe people who have passed on sometimes gives us down here advice.

Besides, like Erin said, it's a great speech. (I agree that it's fitting for the time of Lent too.) All the thoughts of forgiving yourself and staying true to what is important are good enough thoughts to stick around. The "just be there to support" really rings true for me. I went through friend drama a while back and it could have been avoided if people lived by that. Just listen to one another's pain and have sympathy when they're hurting.

 

[Nekoshema]

It's cool that your sister likes Muppet/Muppteers too. My sisters are sick of me talking about them.

lol, my whole family always liked the muppets, but it was my little sister who started going on about the muppeteers. one day i asked who played scooter, she said richard. then i asked about gonzo, dave, sweetums, richard, beaker, richard, statler and waldorf, jim and richard, two-headed monster, jerry and richard. so i thought i find out more about this guy who played so many of my favourite characters, and that's when i found out how amazing he was and decided i must meet him... a month later my sister told me he died and that was the first time i actually cried over a celebrity i liked dying. that was two years ago, NOW i drive her nuts with Richard Hunt facts, and she goes on about Frank Oz. the best part, although she owns a ton of muppet stuff, because my idol is a muppeteer, and i own two fraggle rock seasons and a plushie, I'M the obsessed one... oh well

Besides, like Erin said, it's a great speech. (I agree that it's fitting for the time of Lent too.) All the thoughts of forgiving yourself and staying true to what is important are good enough thoughts to stick around. The "just be there to support" really rings true for me. I went through friend drama a while back and it could have been avoided if people lived by that. Just listen to one another's pain and have sympathy when they're hurting.

yea, that line is so true, that part made me really sad 'to support, to love, to have someone to hug' made me think about my cat, i found him when i was 8 [12 years ago] and he was there through everything good or bad. when i was sad, he was the one who found me hiding, crying and sit there while i cried, and i'd hug him. really, that's all people need sometimes.

 

[Muppet Newsgirl]

Too true...if people in general were a little more willing to lend an ear, or a shoulder to cry on, the world would be a much nicer place. And pets, they don't judge you - they'll listen to you, and all they ask in return is food, water and a scratch behind the ears.

I was about eight or nine years old when I learned that Richard had died. I remember it clearly - the opening credits of "Muppet Christmas Carol," and the screen: "In Loving Memory of Jim Henson and Richard Hunt." I had only just learned who Richard was, and that he played Scooter and many more of my favorites, and I remember feeling a distinct pang of loss. The whole movie was so bittersweet at times - after all, it was the first Muppet movie without Jim and Richard, and you can tell that the cast and crew were grieving.

 

[Kiki]

lol, you've got a muppet corner? that's so cool. i only have a Gobo Fraggle plushie i found at a second hand store [then i searched for 20 minutes for Mokey and Boober, no luck ]

also,although forgiving people is rather important, everyone has a limit. recently [by which i mean the past year] i've been getting into fights over nothing with my best friend [little, stupid things, i have a friend she hates, i went to school so i can't hang as much, so on so forth] and about two months ago, she upset me [i honestly can't remember what.... i think she canceled on something and blamed me] well, she stopped coming over, and wants me to apologize. i forgive her, [it doesn't bother me at all] but there comes a point where you need to stop. if we're meant to be friends, one day, we'll start again. my mom got into a fight with her best friend one, and 15 years later [when we moved back] she called her friend, and everythings back to normal.



so true. where is it written you have to grow up? my answer to problems still is 'dance your cares away' *clap-clap* [sorry, habit]

there's a quote i can't really recall very well by Richard, something along the lines of 'i like working with children who can still believe' [just checked, it's "I like dealing with kids, who can still believe" but i was close ] when i fist heard that quote, i agreed... what movie was it, i saw when i was a kid something about adults have trouble believing in magic when they grow up, it's not that they don't want to, they just can't. that really scared me... then again, according to Marjory the Trash Heap [Fraggle Rock] 'you cannot leave the magic' [which means, to me at least, my lifelong quest of finding a Fraggle hole has not been in vain]

That's so true. I know it's not nice, but parents who are all like, "your daughter's a teenager, she shouldn't be into BABY shows" and whatnot annoy the diddly outta me. I mean, h***, my mum's 50 and she sees the appeal in SSt. When she was a teenager attending high school there was a teacher she knew who LOVED Sesame. At the time, of coarse, my mum found that a little weird, but as she watched SSt with me, even now, she really can appreciate what's gone into it and why I love it.

It's kinda weird when people think once you turn 18 (especially with guys) you're all of a sudden grown up. I've never got that... I know many 18 year olds-- heh, they are not grown up! Far from it, my friend. But when exactly do you grown up? I think youth is a state of mind. I'm weird, I'm convinced I've had another life, only in my past one I died prematurely (yeah, I'm very strange), and in this one I've sotra... picked up where I left off...? So I feel sort of older than I really am... I hardly feel like a teenager. But I also keep in touch with my inner child everyday, I like that kind of freedom. ;3


I'm sorry to hear about your friend. D: I know the feeling... lately my friend has been nitpicking everything I do and say whenever she gets the oppurtunity, whether it's regarding my opinion or my friends. She makes out all of my other friends hate her, even though I know for a fact that it's not the case. She's been very distant, too... and I hate to say it, but I've been a little snappy back- only because I believe she needs it. It's not nice, but it's like she thinks (like most people I know) that I'm weak, and I can't defend myself. I can't let her think this, because it's not true- people just love making assumptions because... well, I'm a lover- not a hater and I don't like fighting. I tihnk that's what you're friend needs, too. *sigh*

Awesome! Pretty much all of my Muppet-related stuff is pretty much just spread throughout the house in no particular pattern. (Yeah, I'm no neat-freak, just a freak.)

Lol, my room is like a battlefield. hats... victorian dresses... paint brushes... e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e. Heehee, yeah, I have a Muppet corner, though. A Little cabinet brimming with Henson stuff- you should see my wardrobe!

And it's true - during his closing remarks at Jim's memorial, Richard offered up some really good spiritual balm. That's really what it is - we've got to stop, find a way to hit the pause button on some of our problems, and just re-connect with what's important.

In fact, there's a church down the street from where I live that's doing a labyrinth walk once a week for Lent. I was a little tightly wound after work, so I went in to check it out. And a couple of times while I was walking the labyrinth, I found myself thinking back to part of Richard's speech: "Forgive your anger...forgive your guilt, your shame, your sadness. Embrace and open up your love...your joy, your truth...and most especially your heart."

That sounds awesome, MN- keep us informed! There's a lot of truth in that, and also what Richard said. I think you have to unwind and acknowledge the more significant things around us... take some time to appreciate the little things, y'know? Food on the table, that sort of stuff.

that's cool you got to do that. i've heard about church's doing stuff like that, always wanted to give it a go. i figured it's the same as meditation, it's a time to clear your mind and let it whatever thoughts enter your mind. stuff like that really helps, it refreshes you in a way.
this might be a little off topic, but when my cat died last week, i felt so sad, but not like crying, as i sat in the dark in my room looking at pictures of him, i heard Richards words [my favourite words actually]
'i wish there was some way to get rid this pain that we're all feeling, this enormous sadness that we all feel. but there are no words. there's nothing any of us can tell each other. accept to be there. to support, to love, to have someone to hug. and it takes time. some times lots of time. but there is solic and there is joy, in knowing that Jim has returned home... for a little while. and that each of us will return there someday. each onto his own'
those words, whenever someone i know dies, i remember those words, and for some reason i can't help but smile. [and i really like how he added the 'each onto his own' i know it's a stupid after though but i like it. ]

Aww, I'm so sorry to hear about your cat. *Hugs* Pet deaths are horrible, I still get teary about my cat and dog. That quote of Richard's is so touching (note to self: google Richard quotes). I think there are times in life where words don't express enough. Guidence helps immensely, though.

Aww, that makes me really happy. Thank you! I need relaxers after a bad day so I'm glad I could provide that for your sister. It's cool that your sister likes Muppet/Muppteers too. My sisters are sick of me talking about them.

Aww, that sucks. D: I have an older brother and he really admires the work of henson. He finds FR "too depressing" (whut? xD) but he's doing a coarse in screen and media and he cites Muppet movies and SSt sketches and... kind of an inspiration, in a way- which I personally think is kinda cool. x33 (I think my brother's favourite muppeteer is either Jim or Frank ;3)

Too true...if people in general were a little more willing to lend an ear, or a shoulder to cry on, the world would be a much nicer place. And pets, they don't judge you - they'll listen to you, and all they ask in return is food, water and a scratch behind the ears.

I was about eight or nine years old when I learned that Richard had died. I remember it clearly - the opening credits of "Muppet Christmas Carol," and the screen: "In Loving Memory of Jim Henson and Richard Hunt." I had only just learned who Richard was, and that he played Scooter and many more of my favorites, and I remember feeling a distinct pang of loss. The whole movie was so bittersweet at times - after all, it was the first Muppet movie without Jim and Richard, and you can tell that the cast and crew were grieving.

Yeah, I'm glad someone else picked up on that. As much as I love the film, they seemed sort of lost, but eventually decided to face the music and continue the Muppet legacy. My eyes still prickle when I read the opening credits. I learnt about Jim's death through my dad when I was little and was a little confused about death, and I learnt about Richard's death when I was either 11 or 12... that was sad. I remember crying to 'Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear'... and yet it's such a cheerful song *lol*.

 

[Nekoshema]

i love simon smith and it too feels bittersweet for me sometimes.
[ i may go out tomorrow if i can borrow a coat to wear... dang, now it's in my head!] i don't know if it's morbid or what, but the version sung at jim's funeral is my favourite... actually, all those songs sound better to me, maybe they were doing there best for him?

and i remember being around 5 when my aunt first played muppet christmas carrol for my sister and i [told you my whole family loves the muppets] and i remember seeing 'in loving memory of Jim Henson and Richard Hunt' [now, my whole life mom's told me Jim's dead, so i never really felt... i guess sad, it was just a fact of life, he died when i was, like 9 months old] but i remember reading it and yelling "who's Richard Hunt!" and i spent the rest of the day asking family members who he was, and people guessed he was a friend or something. fast forward 13 years, and about a minute after my sister told me he died, i remembered the video [cuz up to that point i fast forwarded through the 'in loving memory' i used to fast forward and be like 'preview, preview, muppet movie, seen movie, wanna see muppet movie, in loving memory of jim and some dude blah, blah, credits, credits, credits, gonzo!'] so i threw it in and fast forwarded to the 'in loving memory' and paused it. seeing those words after i knew about him hurt so much. i guess it hurt knowing now two amazing people died so close together.

and yes, the movie is rather bittersweet, but it's really good. one of my favourites in fact. even though they were now grieving over the lost of Richard as well, they wanted to do right by their friends. that's why, even as a kid, i found the part with tiny tim dying seemed so real [and i can't stand tiny tim! it's only in the muppet version i feel sad]

you're so right Muppet Newsgirl, that's all people really need sometimes. i actually prefer animals to humans, they seem nicer at times. sure there are people in the word who are good [everyone here for example] but over all, people can be mean. that's why i like 'childish' things, everything seems better in that world. [suddenly i'm reminded of a quote, "fairy tales don't teach children dragon's are real, children know dragon's are real. fairly tales teach children that they can be slain." i find that quote can have so many different meaning. maybe it's just crazy me ]

oh, and Kiki, my room is cluttered but organized, so i understand lol. my friend always says 'in the madness there is organization' because we have messy rooms, but in one pile we keep books to read, another is artwork, so on so forth.

 

[analeisa]

then i asked about gonzo, dave, sweetums, richard, beaker, richard, statler and waldorf, jim and richard, two-headed monster, jerry and richard. so i thought i find out more about this guy who played so many of my favourite characters, and that's when i found out how amazing he was and decided i must meet him... a month later my sister told me he died and that was the first time i actually cried over a celebrity i liked dying. that was two years ago, NOW i drive her nuts with Richard Hunt facts, and she goes on about Frank Oz. the best part, although she owns a ton of muppet stuff, because my idol is a muppeteer, and i own two fraggle rock seasons and a plushie, I'M the obsessed one... oh well

Oh, I think that's a nice story. Sisters can fight a lot so I approve when they find things in common. Honestly, I've cried over Richard too. Well, not just him. The first time I watched the Jim Henson Memorial... I sobbed. By the way, I agree that the songs sung at the funeral sound. Maybe it's because you can see their faces. I know I like the Simon Smith (with my sincere smile and my dancing bear...) because of the faces Richard made.

But yeah, I came to have a special fondness for Richard in the same way. I think I've always known the big Muppeteers (Jim did Kermit, Caroll Spinney did Big Bird) but I remember thinking "Wow, this Richard Hunt guy sounds awesome." when I researched them more. I liked his characters fine as a kid (Beaker especially) but I didn't really appreciate him until I got older. Maybe it's because I realized his awareness that he was worth it is something I need to have.

Aww, that sucks. D: I have an older brother and he really admires the work of henson. He finds FR "too depressing" (whut? xD) but he's doing a coarse in screen and media and he cites Muppet movies and SSt sketches and... kind of an inspiration, in a way- which I personally think is kinda cool. x33

Don't worry, I think that's cool too! I think doing a coarse on screen sounds cool in general. And, haha, I don't mind my sisters being annoyed. They're a lot younger than I am so they don't quite understand a performer/characters dynamic. I still talk their ear off and got them to like muppets. Their favorite characters are Animal and Cookie Monster.

Oh and: I wanted to say that I'm sorry you've been going through friend drama. I went through that a while back and it really sucks. It's hard wanting to be a lover and not a fighter. But I've learned sometimes you do need to sound snappy in order to defend yourself.

As much as I love the film, they seemed sort of lost, but eventually decided to face the music and continue the Muppet legacy. My eyes still prickle when I read the opening credits.

Ditto. Muppet Christmas Carol is my favorite Muppet movie and I ever saw. I viewed it in the theater when I was a few months old. So, my family had a tradition of watching it every Christmas. This Christmas was the first time I watched it after knowing the significance of Jim and Richard's work. I just.. paused at the "In Loving Memory" for a while. Then later I thought that Kermit and Piggy's tears in Christmas Future truly weren't for Tiny Tim. They were for Jim and Richard.

my friend always says 'in the madness there is organization' because we have messy rooms, but in one pile we keep books to read, another is artwork, so on so forth.

Hee, that's how I organize my stuff. I just have vague spots where I put my stuff. Clothes in one place, books in one place, DVDs in one place.. etc. Though in my DVD place, Muppet stuff has its own section.