15 years - Where were you?

[Xela]

I was...2-years-old. But, even at that young age, I remember hearing about his death. I wish I could remember more though.

 

[Muppetsrock]

I was only 23 yrs old and i was at work, i grabbed the newspaper and on the front page there were two pix one was Jim and Kermit and the other was Sammy Davis Jr. Even though i was a more of a Muppetfan i was goin to write to Mr Henson and ask for an autographed photo of he and kermit, i have been a fan of the muppets since i was a child and i still love 'em let's keep the muppets alive and show the henson family how much we loved jim's work.

 

[Tosh]

I was 16 at the time. I had just come home from school and was idly thumbing through the newspaper when I saw the article about Jim's passing. I think time just stood still for a moment; I couldn't read because of my tears and I kept thinking, this must be a mistake.

The other thing I remember was that a week before, Entertainment Tonight had run a brief "fluff" story that Kermit and Piggy were separating, because according to Piggy, "the ring that Kermit gave me was cubic zirconia." After reading about his death, I remember thinking, "How sad he died, just when Kermit and Piggy were separating." Of course I knew that really didn't make sense, I'm sure the story wasn't true, just for publicity or something maybe.

The next few days/weeks/months were spent gathering every news and magazine article I could find about him. I also based my senior essay on his life and inspiration. How I wish he were still here today!!!

 

[Gorgon Heap]

You can't top mine.

I was 7. My 8th birthday was the next day, May 17th. I was at the kitchen table, eating dinner with my family, and watching the news on our little black and white TV (where I had often watched TMS and SS). The newscaster announced the death of Sammy Davis Jr. at the age of 64. They showed some clips. I remember a little voice in my head saying "at least it wasn't Jim Henson". Then the newscaster said Jim Henson was dead (I can't remember his exact words). I instantly started crying, the dream of meeting my idol was over, and the next day at school everyone was telling me the news, as I was my class's resident Muppet obsessor. That's all I remember about my 8th birthday.

David "Gorgon Heap" Ebersole

 

[fuzzygobo]

RIP Jim

I was twenty-two, and I was a week away from graduating college. I was coming home from work late at night and heard the news on the car radio.
I was shattered. Unlike a lot of you who weren't born yet, I had a lifetime of Sesame Street, Muppet Show, and Fraggle Rock under my belt. One of Jim's goals in life, as portrayed by Kermit in the Muppet Movie, was to make people happy. So I was so crushed that a man that brought so much happiness to this world was gone.

It was very hard accepting his death, since I was at the crossroads in my life. All of Jim's creations represented the best of my childhood- loving others, experiencing all the beauty in this world, laughing, singing, and it seemed like as I got ready for graduation and stepped into the big bad adult world, I thought I would never have that childlike innocence again. I thought all that would be a thing of the past.

Well, Jim's spirit never left me, and now I feel more like a little kid than ever. If anything I don't feel old, and all the lessons Jim imparted on us- loving others, laughing, making others happy, are such a big part of me I can't escape it.

My latest endeavor is to work with puppets in my church group to teach the children about lessons from the Bible in the same way the Muppets taught us about letters and numbers on Sesame Street. And taking a cue from Fraggle Rock, using puppets to teach kids about loving others, seeing the beauty in God's grace all around us, and making this world a better place to live.

I hope my tributes are worthy to the ideals Jim set forth once upon a time.