Hensonville Histories.

[Muppet Newsgirl]

Hmm, I like it, I like it! Keep it coming, Ed!

 

[Katzi428]

Lookin' good,Ed!

 

[muppetwriter]

Haha! I love "Chapter 3", Count! The reference to MC was nicely done, and M.U.P.P.E.T. sounds really awesome.

Waiting patiently for more.

 

[The Count]

Thanks guys. And MW, I only gave them the name. If you want to read about that covert group in action, then I recommend you search for and read Erin (Muppet Newsgirl)'s seminal fanfic, A Little Knight Music. Hope this helps, and Chapter 4 will be posted when I get the chance to do so.

 

[Muppet Newsgirl]

Yeah, but I wrote it a while back, so it's going to be buried way back in the lineup.

I've been working on another fanfic, but it's on the back burner until pretty much the end of the semester. Between three huge papers, an art project and a prose/poetry portfolio, plus daily assignments and tests, I just can't spare enough brain cells at the moment. (sigh)

 

[theprawncracker]

Oh, I love it Ed!! Great job my fiend! Keep it up!

 

[redBoobergurl]

This is great Ed! A wonderful explanation of how Muppet Central came to be! And Jim...I liked that part too.

 

[Ruahnna]

If any of y'all need a place to stay, just let me know, 'kay? And stop by for cookies and tea!

 

[The Count]

Oooohh... Cookies and tea? Can we get some updates to your stories too? Please?

 

[The Count]

Chapter 4: New Places and New Faces.

2001.
A lot had changed in town over the last three years. And yet, there was still a certain air of familiarity whenever the Muppets walked through the streets of Hensonville. The boarding house—infinitely more comfortable than the bus terminal lockers once shared by this colorful cast—located at 33 East Henson Street afforded them the leisure and pleasure of strolling past the streets whenever the whim took them to take to their feet instead of driving the motley painted bus to the theater all the way across town at 10 Central Hunt Street. This morning was different however, Kermit received a call from Mayor Chapman the night before asking to meet the entire family. The frog groggily got up out of bed—his eyelids lazily gazing upon the dragonfly pattern plastered on the walls of his own bedroom—before rousing himself to a state of semi-wakedness. Breakfast was consumed with the usual chatter, every Muppet a buzz with the mystery of what Phillip wanted to see them for. "Maybe it's a new batch of interplanetary custard-filled gym shorts that short out when you run less than ten miles per hour!" "Like if it's about that magazine spread, I've told them before..." "Ooh, jes, the sexy ladies!" "Hope it's not about my comedy act being so bad that even those old hecklers won't come and heckle me anymore" said a nervous bear. "Guys chill, Kerm's takin' care of business over here."

Came a knock on the house's door, two men stood outside dressed neatly and fully prepared for the big meeting. "So, do you think they'll go for it Mr. Chapman" asked the almost thirty-something man standing next to the city's chief. "Let's just wait and see" was all he could say to reassure the business man. While the Swedish Chef had lunch boiling in the pots and desserts in the oven, the rest of the gang took up some form of comfort in the living room—Gonzo and Animal opting for clothes hangers in the closet underneath the stairs—Kermit offered the two visitors seats in the vacated armchairs. "Kermit" addressed Phillip, "I'd like to introduce you to Kenneth 'Ken' Lilly. He's a business man from a toy company out in Maryland." Shake of hands nearly got interrupted by the younger frog wanting to ask his uncle what kinds of toys Mr. Lilly made, but never got the chance as he was held back by his Aunt Piggy's gentle yet forceful arms. "Um, to what do we owe this honor Mr. Lilly?" "Well, my company... Or rather, the company I work for was doing some research into your Muppet history." "Oh?" "Yes, the Muppet Show's 25th anniversary's coming up next year... And we were kind of thinking..." "Yes?" "We wanted to talk to you first and see if you'd give us permission to license and offer a line of toys, action figures really based on your likenesses." To say that the cast was impacted would be an understatement. "E-e-everybody?" "Well, we'd have to see if the buying market would support the line long enough. There are so many wonderful members of your show that we'd just love to commemorate with a few figures of your very own." Reflecting on the fact this was true—their main rise to fame would be celebrating a silver anniversary the coming year—and the looks in all his friends faces—Kermit knew that this was something Jim would approve of, as it would bring joy to so many people across the world. "All right Mr. Lilly, you have yourself a deal." "Are you sure? We'll have to set up appointments for the Muppets we'd like to be part of this to come in and pose for their figures... It'll be a bit grueling and take some time, not to mention a lot of money." "We're sure. This is something that I know will be a great thing for all of us." "Thanks Kermit, I only hope not to let you down." The crowd erupted into jubilant choruses of excitedness... Rowlf and Ken stole off to the porch to share a couple of beers and talk about the specifics, Kermit dragging a mug of steaming coffee to listen in carefully as well to all the little minutia of details involved with this new project.


2002.
The fair winds of April breezed through town as another day dawned at the Muppet Theater, formerly known as the Benny Vanderghast Memorial Theater. Strings of light adorned the outside facade, curtains and wood washed down and freshened up. The Muppets had a year of memories to ring in and by gumption, they would do it in grand style. Phillip had also spent a pretty penny sprucing up the town... He even had his team of technical experts overhaul the forums so it would now work better and smoother, allowing people from all over the world the chance to join in the zaniness he and his cohorts had already enrolled in previously. Luke and Jamie and Byron, along with Kevin and Cindy Chapman—whom Phillip had met and married in a whirlwind Texan romance—were very busy handling the change over in both specs and teks for the unveiling and grand re-opening of Muppet Central. Less than a week when everything was ready, they got word of a new cleaner wishing to be part of the merriment. His name, misspelled at first, was only the second to claim a particular Muppet character as his namesake. Matt or "Bo" as he prefered to be called flew in from England on the morning of the 12th of that month. The chores put to him instantly garnered him a spot in the notable names section of the town and he quickly scooted off to start plotting some creative mayhem in the library section. "Who was that guy again?" asked a confused custodian of Kermit. "Says his name's Beauregard." "But that's my name." "Which is why he wants to be called Bo and call you Beau, Beau." "Riiiiiiight."

Three months can fly off of the calendar in the blink of an eye... And before they knew it, Kermit and a small staff were returning from a dizzying junket at some convention in Philadelphia. He, Miss Piggy, Dr. Teeth, and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker had been chosen as the first Muppets as part of the virgening toy line from that company Ken worked for, aptly named Palisades Toys. The call had come in via mail currier with the tickets for Fozzie Bear, Crazy Harry, Floyd Pepper, Animal, and Gonzo the Great to follow soon after. Gonzo took care to pack his red and yellow stuntsman costume—for some reason they wanted to highlight him as the lunatic daredevil persona he had passionately assumed during the Muppet Show's run on TV. Ken and his team had also gotten permission to scope out the theater's layout, to make sure they could get everything right for when the Muppet Show's recurring sketches' sets were to be released as part of the line as well. July of the year 2002 came and went without any noticeable news... Except for one young man down in the island nation of Puerto Rico. Eduardo heard of the Muppet figure line and it's potential first few lineups, interested to find out what the hubbub was about. The first year of his new venture at his university's law school over with, he enjoyed his summer vacation as usual. Though this year's summer brought a change in him he could not have foreseen. Curious about the newly issued figures, he got some of his money together and got his mom to drive him to the store at the main mall—Plaza Las Americas—as he was designated as legally blind and never obtained a driver's license. Leaving her outside the shop, he asked if there were any Muppets available, surprised to find the full line. Careful at first, the doctor of rockanomics was the natural choice to start what would become his long-standing new collection. The glee overtook him and he asked to go back to the store before leaving the mall, selecting to bring Dr. Honeydew along for the ride. Showing his mom his recent purchases while playing with the figures to work out any articulation problems gingerly, a huge smile came upon Ed's face. Yes, that spark of love for all things Muppets he once had in his heart had come back as sure as that rainbow connection. When he graduated from high school in 1996, Ed foresook his ties to the realms of Muppetdom upon entering his undergrad college years, even going so far as to stop watching Sesame Street continuously as he did from the tender age of five weeks old or so the stories his parents told went—the last episode he could remember featured a guest appearance by Renata Scottie Dog and a reference to Rowlf at the very end by Bob. But now that joy was inside him once again... So he hopped on to the internet and sought out this Muppet Central, joining it in a heartbeat under the pseudonym of that master of mathematics from Transylvania—a character endellibly engrained into his very being. As the new kid on the block, he felt that most of his posts were going by unnoticed, turning popular threads dead making him think he was what would later be known by the terms of a "thread killah". So he sought to remedy this by planning to move to Hensonville before the end of the summer, or at least becoming more of a permanent fixture within that now newly bustling community.