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Hey guys, this is something new I've been working on for my Creative Writing course... hope you enjoy.
Cycle
On April 21st, 1984, in a town called Somerset, Kentucky, a married couple drove to the hospital at 8:15 a.m. The woman in the passenger seat was pregnant with her third child, and her husband of 8 years was actually more calm than the first two times they had done this… he knew what to expect, even though he had some worries that every parent has, but he kept them to himself so he wouldn’t worry his wife. They got to the hospital safely, and after two hours pushing and wailing cries, the mother gave birth to an adorable, blue-eyed daughter. Once they cleaned the baby girl up, they handed her to the mother, who was just in tears of joy. “Samantha,” the mother had said. “We’re calling her Samantha.”
Exactly five months later on September 21st, in Laurel, Montana, at 6:50 p.m. another married couple had rushed to their local hospital to give birth to their third child. The mother had been sick with the flu for nearly two weeks, so she wasn’t feeling her strongest when her water broke, anyways. And once again, after a few tough hours of labor, she gave birth to a boy named Benjamin. However, when the doctors showed Ben to her and the father, they noticed that his jaw was somewhat swayed over to the right, and was missing his right ear. They looked at him with just a hint of a shocked expression once the doctors handed him to the parents, but they immediately loved him, and they would find a way to make sure he had a normal life. However, ten days after his birth when they went in to see the doctor who helped deliver their boy about some test results, they got some startling news that would change their families’ lives forever…
Samantha’s childhood was the same as any other girl. She was very active and always having fun, playing house with her older sister, helping Mom make cookies, and snuggling up with Dad on the rocking chair while they watched The Little Mermaid for the hundredth time. Also, when she was a little girl, her family introduced her to a television show on HBO called “Fraggle Rock.” It was a children’s show that Jim Henson had created, and its purpose was to teach kids to understand the world around them and to get them to find joy in even the smallest of things. She was mesmerized by the unique story line of these five furry characters who lived underneath a guy named Doc’s workshop, and they’d go explore caves, swim, sing, and have many other adventures. To her, it was the perfect show, and she especially loved the female character, Mokey Fraggle. She was Samantha’s favorite, and she always thought that Mokey and the lead character, Gobo, fit great together. But since it was a children’s show, Mokey and Gobo never were boyfriend and girlfriend, but they still loved each other greatly. Her aunt and Mom had even taped many of the episodes, and she kept them for years and years.
Ben’s parents had found out that day that their son had a heart murmur and lung dysfunctions as well. Ben seemed to also be sick with something every other day and bills were just getting higher, and this was before the surgeries. Before the age of six, he had undergone four heart surgeries, one of them open-heart, and was on a respirator at the hospital for over three years of his life. Once he finally went home in early 1988, he was still on the respirator until he was past the age of four, then he had a traech on his neck until he was seven years old. On top of all the heart and lung problems he had, he was also having troubles with his good ear, and had tubes put in. He spent the better part of his childhood in the hospital. Other boys his age were out playing baseball and pretending to be Superman, and Ben had doctor’s appointments and lots of catching up to do. However, while he was in the hospital, he was introduced to The Muppet Show, and Kermit The Frog quickly became his hero, and got his first Kermit stuffed animal when he was three years old, and had him in his hands every time he was went into the O.R. Not long after the Muppets came along, his stay-at-home nurse, Judy, brought home tapes of “Fraggle Rock” to his house, and he loved that show, too. His favorite character was Gobo, and thought he was so cool in every way. Whenever Ben had an upcoming surgery, the only thing on his mind besides getting poked at by needles was getting to see those two shows. His mom’s friends would even tape certain episodes of “Fraggle Rock” for him to watch, since they didn’t have cable. However, his mom later taped over them with her soap opera, “Young & the Restless.” He always wished he could get those episodes back somehow.
Samantha went on to be a great student in grade school, and seemed to be very popular among her friends in class. Sam was very energetic, and usually hung out with the guys. Once Sam was in high school, things just got better. She blossomed into a beautiful Victoria’s-Secret-type model, with friends all around her, and was the cheerleader for all four years of high school. She got straight A’s, and was always everyone’s first choice for their prom date. She even wanted to go to college to study to possibly become a clinical psychologist. She even dated a few guys here and there. Her sister had even gotten married and before too long, Samantha became an aunt. Life was moving fast for Samantha, but every now and then, she’d pull out those old tapes of “Fraggle Rock” to remind her of the days when she was younger, and it truly helped her ‘dance her cares away.’
Benjamin had quite a different upbringing. Because of his years in the hospital, he was kept back one year, making him graduate high school in 2003 instead of 2002. He was always the kid who wanted to be popular, but just wasn’t. His heart condition kept him from playing sports, but that didn’t bother him; he hated most sports anyways. He was considered somewhat awkward, but really he was just misunderstood. Some kids even made fun of his lack of an ear, his crooked jaw, and how he couldn’t throw a football to save his life. Where he lacked in athleticism, he more than made up for in humor. When most kids were watching shows like Ghostbusters and Power Rangers at a young age, he watched Saturday Night Live, where he learned that, because of his traech being removed, he could manipulate his voice to sound like characters that he loved from SNL. He impressed his family, friends and teachers in grade school with his impersonations of Chris Farley, Dana Carvey, and many others.
And even though he wasn’t fond of only having just one ear, he thought of the good things that came from it. He could always share a headphone with a friend, saved up on Q-tips, and if he’d hear his mom calling him to get up early in the morning, he’d just turn over on his side to tune her out. He felt like he had at least one true talent, and he got a personal thrill out of making people laugh uncontrollably. Soon after learning to do voices from Saturday Night Live, he picked up on other peoples and characters’ voices, namely, from the Muppets. He always thought that being a Muppeteer would be the greatest job in the world, and he especially never stopped practicing voices, for maybe one day he’d get the chance to work with Henson’s best and make a difference, just as Jim did. Even though he had aspirations of becoming someone, he had a hard time in high school in regards to social life, but he made it through, and he went to Butte, Montana, to Montana State University, majoring in puppetry and film, where he finally got his first computer…
Samantha went to college, and decided to pursue her interest in psychology, but later dropped college because she just thought it wasn’t for her. She got a steady job, however, and still had time for her family and friends. She even got her own apartment in Frankfort, Kentucky. On September 13, 2003, she was back at her parent’s house in Somerset, and found an incredible site for Jim Henson fans, called www.MuppetCentral.com, and it even had a forum page where fans from anywhere on the globe could talk about “The Muppet Show,” “Sesame Street,” Labyrinth, and even “Fraggle Rock.”
She made an account, her screen name being Mokey, which, to her surprise, hadn’t been taken. She immediately went to the “Fraggle Rock” section of the page. Interestingly enough, someone had made a thread titled, “Episodes You Haven’t Seen” She checked out some of the responses, and the member who started the thread, named Frogster, had listed some episodes of Fraggle Rock he’d seen, but had been erased long ago because his mom recorded over them with soap opera shows. All of the episode descriptions he’d listed fit that of the ones she’d had on her VCR tapes for years, and since she had a VCR/DVD recorder, she thought she’d reply back, asking if he’d like the episodes for free. The guy was from Montana, and he was more than happy about the offer she’d made. So, he gave Samantha his email address, and she emailed him a list of all the episodes of “Fraggle Rock” she had.
And at the bottom of the email, she wrote, “My name is Samantha, by the way, and again I’d be happy to give you all of these for free. However, I’d kind of like to know the name of the guy I’m sending these to, lol.”
The guy simply replied back, “Thanks so much for doing this. I’m Ben. If you’d like, call me tonight and we could talk about Fraggles. My number’s at the bottom. If you can’t, it’s all good, I just thought it’d be fun to chat with another fan for once in my life. Once again, thanks so much!”
To Ben’s surprise, he got a call from Samantha that night. She had a deep southern accent, Ben noticed, but it was a very pleasing accent. And for three and a half hours straight, they went through all five years’ worth of episodes of the show they cared so much about. They even shared what got them into it, and what parts of it they thought affected their personality. Ben and Samantha, through their conversations, saw that they had so much in common; more than just a simple children’s show.
“How cool is it that I put up a post about looking for lost episodes of “Fraggle Rock,” and you just happen to have every one of the ones I’m looking for, plus more? Quite the coincidence, don’t you think, considering the show’s no longer running in syndication?” Ben asked.
“My Dad once told me, ‘Don’t mistake coincidence for fate.’ I always thought that was quite poetic of him.” She replied.
At the end of the night, before Samantha and Ben headed off to bed, Samantha asked, “Are we gonna stay in touch, or are you just using me to get these episodes?”
Ben replied, “Of course not. In fact, I think we have lots to share with each other, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, you’re right… It was great talking to you tonight, Ben.”
“You too, Samantha. Hope to hear from you tomorrow.”
“You will… see you soon!”
And indeed they did. For at least three hours a night for five nights a week, they talked on the phone. Even though they were over 1,700 miles apart, they chatted as if they were right there in each other’s rooms. Ben became more relaxed around Sam, and was able to let his silly side out, which Samantha just loved. Sam had even admitted to Ben on several occasions that she normally didn’t laugh so hard except when she was talking to Ben, and he knew to ‘split her sides,’ so to speak. They just fit together like a Laurel and Hardy situation, where if someone were observing the two, the observer would say that these two were meant to be together. Samantha gave Benjamin so much hope and perseverance; she thought he was so smart when it came to comedy, and could voice just about any Henson creation she could think of, and even though he seemed to have some personal issues dealing with his looks and how he felt people viewed him in society, she saw that deep inside, he was a pure, decent guy.
And Ben did the same for her; he saw that she had true potential to help those in need and really become somebody extraordinary. She had the articulation and reasoning to become a great psychologist, and had a soul like no other he’d ever seen. They shared so much together, and were truly the best friends anyone could imagine. Good and bad times had come their way, and they had even argued a time or two, but nothing ever separated them. They were so lucky to have each other. It was just a shame they were so far apart. It was strange, that they were so close, yet they’d never seen each other face to face.
Ben could tell that, even though they rarely touched on the subject, they were starting to go beyond just liking each other. He felt a great attachment to her, but would have felt weird mentioning it. They’d known each other well for over two years now. It’s at this time that Ben had also been trying to find puppeteering schools around the U.S., and finally found one in Lexington, Kentucky, called Paul Mesner’s Puppets. He put in an application, sent in some tapes of his work, and within a week of them receiving his video tape and resume, he was asked to fly down for an interview and audition. Before his meeting with Mesner, he wanted to make sure to finally meet an old friend, face to face.
He and Samantha had set up everything via phone, and she even told him she had a pull-out couch he could sleep in so he didn’t have to spend money at a hotel. They both were incredibly excited that, after two years of knowing each other, they were going to finally see each other in person. They both thought of the possibility that, if he got the job, they could maybe start a relationship, something they’ve both wanted for two years. The flight down to Kentucky seemed long, but sure enough, once he stepped out of gate 42F, she was there, and it took Ben a second or two to take it all in. Man, he thought, she was even better-looking in person! They had their eyes fixed on each other for a while, then finally they hugged, and a single tear went down Samantha’s face. Two people, once so far apart, finally together.
She took him out to eat at a nice restaurant that night. They may have shared so much in two years’ time, but seeing each other face to face just seemed to generate more conversations. At first, Ben was nervous about what she would think of him, but she didn’t treat him one bit different than if they were on the phone. He was very attractive to her, and could have cared less if he had no ears, although that would have meant she would need to learn sign language. That night, they rented the movie, As Good As It Gets. It was one of their favorite movies.
Finally, Ben made the move. He put his left hand on her leg. She didn’t reject, and instead held his hand. Ben turned to face Sam, and kissed her on the cheek,
After reeling from the delightful shock, Sam asked, “I can’t believe that you’re being interviewed for a job that’s not far at all from where I live… quite the coincidence, don’t you think?”
“Don’t mistake coincidence for fate,” he replied. And for a moment, they were locked in each others’ eyes, drawn to each other by some unknown force, and then Ben kissed her on the lips, softly, and took in the moment.
“I love you,” he finally said.
“I love you, too,” she replied. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for that.”
“Let me guess, two years?” Ben said, hoping to get a smile. Samantha just burst out laughing, and after a moment of silence, they kissed, and held each other all night.
The next morning, Ben got to his appointment on time, thanks to a preset alarm clock Samantha had put out. After two hours of talking and critiquing, Mesner and his people made their decision. He went back to her place and told Samantha, who was already making a special lunch for him, the news.
“I got the job!” he shouted the second she answered the door.
“Honey! That’s great! When do you start?” she asked.
They sat down to eat, and he shared all the details. Afterwards she asked where he’d stay. After he said he’d just simply find a place somewhere around the area, she offered, since she wasn’t far from where he worked anyways. At first he had to think about it, but they felt like they knew each other well enough that the situation may work out. And it more than worked out. They started dating, and they enjoyed spending time together, going to concerts, meeting new friends, and doing lots of other things together. He was enjoying his job at Mesner’s Puppets, and she went back to college to study to become a clinical psychologist like she wanted, thanks to the inspiration of her boyfriend, Ben.
Sure enough, after two years of dating, Ben finally proposed to Samantha on the day they met four years ago on September 13, 2007. They had a wonderful wedding ceremony in Louisville, Kentucky in 2008 and a couple years later, they had their first son, and named him Nathan, and a year later, a daughter named Jennifer. Their kids grew up watching all the old “Fraggle Rock” shows that Ben and Sam watched when they were kids, and they were the cutest, well-behaved kids you could ask for. Life for Benjamin and Samantha was perfect, and they cherished many years together as a couple, and were a very happy family. And even when things weren’t perfect in their lives, Ben always saw that Samantha just didn’t make the best of it, she was the best of it.
Years later, in 2024, when Ben was in his mid-30’s, he noticed that he was getting shorter and shorter of breath, and had terrible chest pains that seared through him like a sudden jolt of electricity. He couldn’t play around with Ben without having to sit down for a breather. Samantha suggested they get his heart looked at, and they flew back to Montana to see Ben’s heart physicians. They noticed he had a leak in a valve, and his heart wasn’t keeping up with the rest of his system, so to speak, and they told him he’d have to have heart surgery again, just to patch things up. So, two months later, the whole family flew out to Montana, and Samantha took the kids to stay with Ben’s family while Ben was at the hospital.
The morning of the surgery, after Ben got to chat with his kids, it was just he and Samantha left in the room, alone. They started joking about how she was going to have to baby him once this was all over, and then, that’s when Samantha started to cry.
“What if something happens in there?” she asked through her tears.
“Hey, I’m going to be fine. Nothing is going to happen, Sam. I’ll be right out in two shakes of a Persian kitten’s whiskers. Just give me some time to respond after I wake up… I hear the heart’s sort of a vital organ, so I’ll need to take it easy,” he joked. After that, some female nurses came in to escort him to the O.R. “Now THIS is the way to go have a surgery!” he joked again with his wife. And before he left, Samantha bent down to kiss her husband’s lips, and then whispering her love into his ear. “I’ll be back, sweetheart, don’t worry.”
“I know… I love you,” she said.
“I love you too,” he replied, and with that, he was wheeled down to the O.R.
The surgery was supposed to last up to four hours, and four hours had come to pass… then five hours… then six hours. Samantha had been in the waiting area with Nathan, Jennifer. and her in-laws. Finally, Ben’s heart surgeon came out, with a sullen look upon his face. Samantha ran up and asked about his condition.
“Ma’am, we tried, but a few hours into the surgery, his heart just stopped. There was too much leakage, and…” as he started to go into more detail, Samantha had just collapsed. She somewhat gathered herself, moved to a chair, and when the rest of the family came to comfort her, she spilled what the doctor had told her, no matter how difficult it was to say it.
It was unbelievable, she thought. This was not supposed to happen. They had a family, a home, a life. This couldn’t be happening… this shouldn’t be happening. Benjamin, the man she knew and loved for over twenty years- the man she thought she’d have forever in her life- had passed away.
Life wasn’t easy after Benjamin’s death, but Samantha, as well as the kids, learned to move forward in life. Sam was still a great mother and held her job as a clinical psychologist. Jennifer and Nathan were at the top of their class in school, and Nathan was now a sophomore. A year after Ben’s passing, Nathan was online at MuppetCentral.com in school, and had seen a forum member by the name of ChicksNSpace, who had put up a thread about how, when she was younger, her dad had taped over her “Fraggle Rock” videos with “Monday Night Football,” and was seeing if someone out there could help her out and maybe make a trade, and even left her email address for a potential response. She seemed to really want these episodes pretty badly. Who could blame her? It was a great show, Nathan thought.
Nathan read this and decided to post back, saying he’d be able to help and send her an email. After writing a list of all the episodes he would be able to burn on DVD for her, he said:
“My name is Nathan, by the way, and again I’d be happy to give you all of these for free. However, I’d kind of like to know the name of the guy I’m sending these to, lol.”
And she wrote back, “Thanks so much for doing this. I’m Elizabeth. If you’d like, call me tonight and we could talk about Fraggles. My number’s at the bottom. If you can’t, it’s all good. You just seem like an alright person. Once again, thanks so much!”
After reading the email, Nathan thought, I wonder what her story is.
Cycle
On April 21st, 1984, in a town called Somerset, Kentucky, a married couple drove to the hospital at 8:15 a.m. The woman in the passenger seat was pregnant with her third child, and her husband of 8 years was actually more calm than the first two times they had done this… he knew what to expect, even though he had some worries that every parent has, but he kept them to himself so he wouldn’t worry his wife. They got to the hospital safely, and after two hours pushing and wailing cries, the mother gave birth to an adorable, blue-eyed daughter. Once they cleaned the baby girl up, they handed her to the mother, who was just in tears of joy. “Samantha,” the mother had said. “We’re calling her Samantha.”
Exactly five months later on September 21st, in Laurel, Montana, at 6:50 p.m. another married couple had rushed to their local hospital to give birth to their third child. The mother had been sick with the flu for nearly two weeks, so she wasn’t feeling her strongest when her water broke, anyways. And once again, after a few tough hours of labor, she gave birth to a boy named Benjamin. However, when the doctors showed Ben to her and the father, they noticed that his jaw was somewhat swayed over to the right, and was missing his right ear. They looked at him with just a hint of a shocked expression once the doctors handed him to the parents, but they immediately loved him, and they would find a way to make sure he had a normal life. However, ten days after his birth when they went in to see the doctor who helped deliver their boy about some test results, they got some startling news that would change their families’ lives forever…
Samantha’s childhood was the same as any other girl. She was very active and always having fun, playing house with her older sister, helping Mom make cookies, and snuggling up with Dad on the rocking chair while they watched The Little Mermaid for the hundredth time. Also, when she was a little girl, her family introduced her to a television show on HBO called “Fraggle Rock.” It was a children’s show that Jim Henson had created, and its purpose was to teach kids to understand the world around them and to get them to find joy in even the smallest of things. She was mesmerized by the unique story line of these five furry characters who lived underneath a guy named Doc’s workshop, and they’d go explore caves, swim, sing, and have many other adventures. To her, it was the perfect show, and she especially loved the female character, Mokey Fraggle. She was Samantha’s favorite, and she always thought that Mokey and the lead character, Gobo, fit great together. But since it was a children’s show, Mokey and Gobo never were boyfriend and girlfriend, but they still loved each other greatly. Her aunt and Mom had even taped many of the episodes, and she kept them for years and years.
Ben’s parents had found out that day that their son had a heart murmur and lung dysfunctions as well. Ben seemed to also be sick with something every other day and bills were just getting higher, and this was before the surgeries. Before the age of six, he had undergone four heart surgeries, one of them open-heart, and was on a respirator at the hospital for over three years of his life. Once he finally went home in early 1988, he was still on the respirator until he was past the age of four, then he had a traech on his neck until he was seven years old. On top of all the heart and lung problems he had, he was also having troubles with his good ear, and had tubes put in. He spent the better part of his childhood in the hospital. Other boys his age were out playing baseball and pretending to be Superman, and Ben had doctor’s appointments and lots of catching up to do. However, while he was in the hospital, he was introduced to The Muppet Show, and Kermit The Frog quickly became his hero, and got his first Kermit stuffed animal when he was three years old, and had him in his hands every time he was went into the O.R. Not long after the Muppets came along, his stay-at-home nurse, Judy, brought home tapes of “Fraggle Rock” to his house, and he loved that show, too. His favorite character was Gobo, and thought he was so cool in every way. Whenever Ben had an upcoming surgery, the only thing on his mind besides getting poked at by needles was getting to see those two shows. His mom’s friends would even tape certain episodes of “Fraggle Rock” for him to watch, since they didn’t have cable. However, his mom later taped over them with her soap opera, “Young & the Restless.” He always wished he could get those episodes back somehow.
Samantha went on to be a great student in grade school, and seemed to be very popular among her friends in class. Sam was very energetic, and usually hung out with the guys. Once Sam was in high school, things just got better. She blossomed into a beautiful Victoria’s-Secret-type model, with friends all around her, and was the cheerleader for all four years of high school. She got straight A’s, and was always everyone’s first choice for their prom date. She even wanted to go to college to study to possibly become a clinical psychologist. She even dated a few guys here and there. Her sister had even gotten married and before too long, Samantha became an aunt. Life was moving fast for Samantha, but every now and then, she’d pull out those old tapes of “Fraggle Rock” to remind her of the days when she was younger, and it truly helped her ‘dance her cares away.’
Benjamin had quite a different upbringing. Because of his years in the hospital, he was kept back one year, making him graduate high school in 2003 instead of 2002. He was always the kid who wanted to be popular, but just wasn’t. His heart condition kept him from playing sports, but that didn’t bother him; he hated most sports anyways. He was considered somewhat awkward, but really he was just misunderstood. Some kids even made fun of his lack of an ear, his crooked jaw, and how he couldn’t throw a football to save his life. Where he lacked in athleticism, he more than made up for in humor. When most kids were watching shows like Ghostbusters and Power Rangers at a young age, he watched Saturday Night Live, where he learned that, because of his traech being removed, he could manipulate his voice to sound like characters that he loved from SNL. He impressed his family, friends and teachers in grade school with his impersonations of Chris Farley, Dana Carvey, and many others.
And even though he wasn’t fond of only having just one ear, he thought of the good things that came from it. He could always share a headphone with a friend, saved up on Q-tips, and if he’d hear his mom calling him to get up early in the morning, he’d just turn over on his side to tune her out. He felt like he had at least one true talent, and he got a personal thrill out of making people laugh uncontrollably. Soon after learning to do voices from Saturday Night Live, he picked up on other peoples and characters’ voices, namely, from the Muppets. He always thought that being a Muppeteer would be the greatest job in the world, and he especially never stopped practicing voices, for maybe one day he’d get the chance to work with Henson’s best and make a difference, just as Jim did. Even though he had aspirations of becoming someone, he had a hard time in high school in regards to social life, but he made it through, and he went to Butte, Montana, to Montana State University, majoring in puppetry and film, where he finally got his first computer…
Samantha went to college, and decided to pursue her interest in psychology, but later dropped college because she just thought it wasn’t for her. She got a steady job, however, and still had time for her family and friends. She even got her own apartment in Frankfort, Kentucky. On September 13, 2003, she was back at her parent’s house in Somerset, and found an incredible site for Jim Henson fans, called www.MuppetCentral.com, and it even had a forum page where fans from anywhere on the globe could talk about “The Muppet Show,” “Sesame Street,” Labyrinth, and even “Fraggle Rock.”
She made an account, her screen name being Mokey, which, to her surprise, hadn’t been taken. She immediately went to the “Fraggle Rock” section of the page. Interestingly enough, someone had made a thread titled, “Episodes You Haven’t Seen” She checked out some of the responses, and the member who started the thread, named Frogster, had listed some episodes of Fraggle Rock he’d seen, but had been erased long ago because his mom recorded over them with soap opera shows. All of the episode descriptions he’d listed fit that of the ones she’d had on her VCR tapes for years, and since she had a VCR/DVD recorder, she thought she’d reply back, asking if he’d like the episodes for free. The guy was from Montana, and he was more than happy about the offer she’d made. So, he gave Samantha his email address, and she emailed him a list of all the episodes of “Fraggle Rock” she had.
And at the bottom of the email, she wrote, “My name is Samantha, by the way, and again I’d be happy to give you all of these for free. However, I’d kind of like to know the name of the guy I’m sending these to, lol.”
The guy simply replied back, “Thanks so much for doing this. I’m Ben. If you’d like, call me tonight and we could talk about Fraggles. My number’s at the bottom. If you can’t, it’s all good, I just thought it’d be fun to chat with another fan for once in my life. Once again, thanks so much!”
To Ben’s surprise, he got a call from Samantha that night. She had a deep southern accent, Ben noticed, but it was a very pleasing accent. And for three and a half hours straight, they went through all five years’ worth of episodes of the show they cared so much about. They even shared what got them into it, and what parts of it they thought affected their personality. Ben and Samantha, through their conversations, saw that they had so much in common; more than just a simple children’s show.
“How cool is it that I put up a post about looking for lost episodes of “Fraggle Rock,” and you just happen to have every one of the ones I’m looking for, plus more? Quite the coincidence, don’t you think, considering the show’s no longer running in syndication?” Ben asked.
“My Dad once told me, ‘Don’t mistake coincidence for fate.’ I always thought that was quite poetic of him.” She replied.
At the end of the night, before Samantha and Ben headed off to bed, Samantha asked, “Are we gonna stay in touch, or are you just using me to get these episodes?”
Ben replied, “Of course not. In fact, I think we have lots to share with each other, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, you’re right… It was great talking to you tonight, Ben.”
“You too, Samantha. Hope to hear from you tomorrow.”
“You will… see you soon!”
And indeed they did. For at least three hours a night for five nights a week, they talked on the phone. Even though they were over 1,700 miles apart, they chatted as if they were right there in each other’s rooms. Ben became more relaxed around Sam, and was able to let his silly side out, which Samantha just loved. Sam had even admitted to Ben on several occasions that she normally didn’t laugh so hard except when she was talking to Ben, and he knew to ‘split her sides,’ so to speak. They just fit together like a Laurel and Hardy situation, where if someone were observing the two, the observer would say that these two were meant to be together. Samantha gave Benjamin so much hope and perseverance; she thought he was so smart when it came to comedy, and could voice just about any Henson creation she could think of, and even though he seemed to have some personal issues dealing with his looks and how he felt people viewed him in society, she saw that deep inside, he was a pure, decent guy.
And Ben did the same for her; he saw that she had true potential to help those in need and really become somebody extraordinary. She had the articulation and reasoning to become a great psychologist, and had a soul like no other he’d ever seen. They shared so much together, and were truly the best friends anyone could imagine. Good and bad times had come their way, and they had even argued a time or two, but nothing ever separated them. They were so lucky to have each other. It was just a shame they were so far apart. It was strange, that they were so close, yet they’d never seen each other face to face.
Ben could tell that, even though they rarely touched on the subject, they were starting to go beyond just liking each other. He felt a great attachment to her, but would have felt weird mentioning it. They’d known each other well for over two years now. It’s at this time that Ben had also been trying to find puppeteering schools around the U.S., and finally found one in Lexington, Kentucky, called Paul Mesner’s Puppets. He put in an application, sent in some tapes of his work, and within a week of them receiving his video tape and resume, he was asked to fly down for an interview and audition. Before his meeting with Mesner, he wanted to make sure to finally meet an old friend, face to face.
He and Samantha had set up everything via phone, and she even told him she had a pull-out couch he could sleep in so he didn’t have to spend money at a hotel. They both were incredibly excited that, after two years of knowing each other, they were going to finally see each other in person. They both thought of the possibility that, if he got the job, they could maybe start a relationship, something they’ve both wanted for two years. The flight down to Kentucky seemed long, but sure enough, once he stepped out of gate 42F, she was there, and it took Ben a second or two to take it all in. Man, he thought, she was even better-looking in person! They had their eyes fixed on each other for a while, then finally they hugged, and a single tear went down Samantha’s face. Two people, once so far apart, finally together.
She took him out to eat at a nice restaurant that night. They may have shared so much in two years’ time, but seeing each other face to face just seemed to generate more conversations. At first, Ben was nervous about what she would think of him, but she didn’t treat him one bit different than if they were on the phone. He was very attractive to her, and could have cared less if he had no ears, although that would have meant she would need to learn sign language. That night, they rented the movie, As Good As It Gets. It was one of their favorite movies.
Finally, Ben made the move. He put his left hand on her leg. She didn’t reject, and instead held his hand. Ben turned to face Sam, and kissed her on the cheek,
After reeling from the delightful shock, Sam asked, “I can’t believe that you’re being interviewed for a job that’s not far at all from where I live… quite the coincidence, don’t you think?”
“Don’t mistake coincidence for fate,” he replied. And for a moment, they were locked in each others’ eyes, drawn to each other by some unknown force, and then Ben kissed her on the lips, softly, and took in the moment.
“I love you,” he finally said.
“I love you, too,” she replied. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for that.”
“Let me guess, two years?” Ben said, hoping to get a smile. Samantha just burst out laughing, and after a moment of silence, they kissed, and held each other all night.
The next morning, Ben got to his appointment on time, thanks to a preset alarm clock Samantha had put out. After two hours of talking and critiquing, Mesner and his people made their decision. He went back to her place and told Samantha, who was already making a special lunch for him, the news.
“I got the job!” he shouted the second she answered the door.
“Honey! That’s great! When do you start?” she asked.
They sat down to eat, and he shared all the details. Afterwards she asked where he’d stay. After he said he’d just simply find a place somewhere around the area, she offered, since she wasn’t far from where he worked anyways. At first he had to think about it, but they felt like they knew each other well enough that the situation may work out. And it more than worked out. They started dating, and they enjoyed spending time together, going to concerts, meeting new friends, and doing lots of other things together. He was enjoying his job at Mesner’s Puppets, and she went back to college to study to become a clinical psychologist like she wanted, thanks to the inspiration of her boyfriend, Ben.
Sure enough, after two years of dating, Ben finally proposed to Samantha on the day they met four years ago on September 13, 2007. They had a wonderful wedding ceremony in Louisville, Kentucky in 2008 and a couple years later, they had their first son, and named him Nathan, and a year later, a daughter named Jennifer. Their kids grew up watching all the old “Fraggle Rock” shows that Ben and Sam watched when they were kids, and they were the cutest, well-behaved kids you could ask for. Life for Benjamin and Samantha was perfect, and they cherished many years together as a couple, and were a very happy family. And even when things weren’t perfect in their lives, Ben always saw that Samantha just didn’t make the best of it, she was the best of it.
Years later, in 2024, when Ben was in his mid-30’s, he noticed that he was getting shorter and shorter of breath, and had terrible chest pains that seared through him like a sudden jolt of electricity. He couldn’t play around with Ben without having to sit down for a breather. Samantha suggested they get his heart looked at, and they flew back to Montana to see Ben’s heart physicians. They noticed he had a leak in a valve, and his heart wasn’t keeping up with the rest of his system, so to speak, and they told him he’d have to have heart surgery again, just to patch things up. So, two months later, the whole family flew out to Montana, and Samantha took the kids to stay with Ben’s family while Ben was at the hospital.
The morning of the surgery, after Ben got to chat with his kids, it was just he and Samantha left in the room, alone. They started joking about how she was going to have to baby him once this was all over, and then, that’s when Samantha started to cry.
“What if something happens in there?” she asked through her tears.
“Hey, I’m going to be fine. Nothing is going to happen, Sam. I’ll be right out in two shakes of a Persian kitten’s whiskers. Just give me some time to respond after I wake up… I hear the heart’s sort of a vital organ, so I’ll need to take it easy,” he joked. After that, some female nurses came in to escort him to the O.R. “Now THIS is the way to go have a surgery!” he joked again with his wife. And before he left, Samantha bent down to kiss her husband’s lips, and then whispering her love into his ear. “I’ll be back, sweetheart, don’t worry.”
“I know… I love you,” she said.
“I love you too,” he replied, and with that, he was wheeled down to the O.R.
The surgery was supposed to last up to four hours, and four hours had come to pass… then five hours… then six hours. Samantha had been in the waiting area with Nathan, Jennifer. and her in-laws. Finally, Ben’s heart surgeon came out, with a sullen look upon his face. Samantha ran up and asked about his condition.
“Ma’am, we tried, but a few hours into the surgery, his heart just stopped. There was too much leakage, and…” as he started to go into more detail, Samantha had just collapsed. She somewhat gathered herself, moved to a chair, and when the rest of the family came to comfort her, she spilled what the doctor had told her, no matter how difficult it was to say it.
It was unbelievable, she thought. This was not supposed to happen. They had a family, a home, a life. This couldn’t be happening… this shouldn’t be happening. Benjamin, the man she knew and loved for over twenty years- the man she thought she’d have forever in her life- had passed away.
Life wasn’t easy after Benjamin’s death, but Samantha, as well as the kids, learned to move forward in life. Sam was still a great mother and held her job as a clinical psychologist. Jennifer and Nathan were at the top of their class in school, and Nathan was now a sophomore. A year after Ben’s passing, Nathan was online at MuppetCentral.com in school, and had seen a forum member by the name of ChicksNSpace, who had put up a thread about how, when she was younger, her dad had taped over her “Fraggle Rock” videos with “Monday Night Football,” and was seeing if someone out there could help her out and maybe make a trade, and even left her email address for a potential response. She seemed to really want these episodes pretty badly. Who could blame her? It was a great show, Nathan thought.
Nathan read this and decided to post back, saying he’d be able to help and send her an email. After writing a list of all the episodes he would be able to burn on DVD for her, he said:
“My name is Nathan, by the way, and again I’d be happy to give you all of these for free. However, I’d kind of like to know the name of the guy I’m sending these to, lol.”
And she wrote back, “Thanks so much for doing this. I’m Elizabeth. If you’d like, call me tonight and we could talk about Fraggles. My number’s at the bottom. If you can’t, it’s all good. You just seem like an alright person. Once again, thanks so much!”
After reading the email, Nathan thought, I wonder what her story is.
For those reading, everything is true up to the point of the part where he gets the job in Kentucky, and they end up together. Some parts of our lives, I've left out for two reasons... 1) To show a true romance story that has an innocent essence in the core, and 2) I'm not fortunate enough to have this woman as a part of my relationship life, only a true, dear friend that I'll always love and miss. Thanks again, you readers.