Piggy: (giving Catherine a hard look) Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to rejoin her roomie? Where have you been and what have you been doing all this time?
Catherine: (sheepishly) I'm really sorry, Piggy. It's been a very busy since I got back from my trip. Did you find all the casseroles that I left for you?
Piggy: (grudgingly) Yes.
Catherine: And?
Piggy: (muttering resentfully, with her arms crossed over her chest) They were delicious.
Catherine: Oh, good--and did Chef take care of anything I forgot.
Piggy: (with decided bad grace) Yes....
(Catherine leans in and gives Piggy a peck on the cheek.) C'mon, roomie--don't be mad. I have lots of exciting things to tell you. Come in the kitchen with me--where we can, um, talk.
Piggy: (eyes lighting at the mention of kitchen) Well, okay.
Catherine: (lighting the stove and putting on the teapot) Here--let's use the real teapot--the one from England--and we'll make tea with the tea ball and the loose tea leaves.
Piggy: (dryly) Better not tell Sam the Eagle we've got "loose tea leaves" in here--he'll report us.
Catherine: (laughing) That's my roomie! Here's your tea. Be careful--it's very hot. (She peels a handful of carrots and puts them through the food processor, adds a handful of raisins and a generous dollop of plain yogurt) There--eat your salad while I make with the hot food.
Piggy: (munching happily) Did you have a good time on your trip?
Catherine: (Sighing) Oh, Piggy--it was geat. It was wonderful to be in Washington, D.C. on the nation's birthday. We got to see the Independance Day parade, and fireworks over the Washington monumnet. It was lovely, but I have to tell you I was a little nervous while the fireworks were going off. Our country has been such a target lately, it was a little sobering to see all the aircraft patroling. (Puts a plate of hot mashed potatos in front of Piggy. There are little bits of melted mozarella and American cheese sprinkled throughout.) Here--sorry they're instant. I'm not up for mashing the real thing tonight.
Piggy: No, no--this looks wonderful. (Digs in with appetite) Did you get hear the special music? Stevie Wonder was there, and--
Catherine: (ruefully) Only on the television set afterward. We watched the fireworks from the Lincoln Memorial steps, but we saw the televised special music from the Washington Monument later when we rode the Metro back to our hotel.
Piggy: (shocked) You rode the Metro? You rode public transportation?
Catherine: (sighs) Yes, Piggy. We rode publice transportation--you should try it more often. I thought the Metro was neat--we don't have any undergrounds where I live most of the time. The Metro took us everywhere we wanted to go. (Goes to tiny freezer and pulls out a small, square package from behind the ice cube trays. Opens the foil to reveal a brownie. Puts brownie in bowl, squirts a little chocolate syrup on it and places it in the microwave for a 90 seconds)
Piggy: (eyes narrowed) Is that a brownie? Where did you get it?
Catherien: Relax--it's for you. And I'm not telling you where I keep all the extras hidden. And the Metro took us to the Smithsonian, where we saw all sorts of amazing things. (Takes brownie out of microwave, puts a scoop of vanilla ice-cream on it and places it in front of Piggy. Piggy looks at it--and Catherine--adoringly.)
Piggy: You are a good roomie.
Catherine: (waving her off) Yeah, yeah. Piggy, we got to see the very first flag that was ever made for our country--it was bigger than the house of the lady who originally sewed it. And, of course, we saw dinosaurs bones and the Hope Diamond and lots of other incredible things.
Piggy: (looking up keenly) So, you did get to see the display at the Smithsonian? How did my gowns looks--did they have the lighting right?
Catherine: (sitting suddenly at the table and wrapping her hands around her tea cup) Um, Piggy--I did get to see the exhibit at the Smithsonian. It was really neat, but....
Piggy: (keenly) But?
Catherine: But...you weren't in it, and neither were the gowns and other things that you sent.
Piggy: (uncertainly) Oh. I see.
Catherine: Piggy--you remember Mr. Henson?
Piggy: Jim? Of course! He helped Kermit get his start in show business. And he was always so nice to me. Working with Jim was wonderful. (Sadly) I'm sorry he's gone.
Catherine: Me, too, Piggy. But you would have liked the display. It was--it was really a display about Jim, and all the characters whose careers he started. Rowlf was there. You know, he worked with Jim a long time before you met him.
Piggy: Yes. And Kermit--was he there, too?
Catherine: Yes--Kermit and Dr. Teeth. I'll bet you forgot that Jim helped the Electric Mayhem get their first gig.
Piggy: (smiling) And the music world was never the same...."
Catherine: That's certainly true. And there were some things there from some of Jim's other work--things he did after you worked with him on The Muppet Show. Did you know he pioneered the use of robotics and remote control devises in some of his later movies?
Piggy: I didn't know that. He was very inventive. If someone told him he couldn't do something, he never argued. He just smiled, and did it anyway. He was amazing to work with.
Catherine: (quietly) Piggy--sometimes I'm very envious of you, because you did get to work with him. It must have been, I don't know, unbelievable.
Piggy: (a little teary) It was. And he was very sweet. We would have done anything for him--anything he asked us to do, just because he believed we could.
Catherine: (gently) That sounds a lot like Kermit.
Piggy: (sniffing) Yes--they were very much alike in some ways. But he could be very philosophical too--I think that's why he worked so well with Rowlf.
Catherine: Could be. Oh--and they had some things there from the Swedish Chef's kitchen, too. Jim helped Chef get his first cooking gig--on The Muppet Show.
Piggy: And cooking shows will never be the same.
Catherine: (laughing) No, I guess not. I took some pictures, Piggy. Here are some of the ones that turned out good. (passing them over)
Piggy: Oh--I see what you mean about the display. Look--there's our dormie from Sara's room, the man who plays the banjo and looks so much like Jim. (thoughtfully) I think they might have been cousins.
Catherine: (smiling) Maybe so.
Piggy: (with a choked gasp of laughter) Oh. My. Gosh. Is that geeky guy on the end really Kermit?
Catherine: (looking over Piggy's shoulder) Yep--that's a picture of Kermit on the first television show he ever did. (teasingly) Before he got all suave and sophisticated and became a television host.
Piggy: Who are these other people?
Catherine: Well, I don't know some of these guys personally. They all used to work with Jim on the very first television show that Jim ever did. This fellow's Sam--he was the host of the show that Jim worked on.
Piggy: (looking at picture) If it was Jim's show, how come Jim wasn't the host?
Catherine: I think Jim liked to be a more behind-the-scenes kind of guy. I guess that's why he picked Kermit to be the host of The Muppet Show.
Piggy: (dreamily) He must have been grooming Kermie, even then, for greatness.
Catherine: Maybe so. This fellow here is Chicken Liver, and this guy is called Mushmellon.
Piggy: I can see why.
Catherine: That's Yorrick, in front of Kermit.
Piggy: Cute. Cute name.
Catherine: And that's Harry the Hipster.
Piggy: He looks familiar--vaguely familiar.
Catherine: Kermit looks so young--and so does Jim. But they were young, then. This is the show that gave Kermit his big break.
Piggy: Are you sure that's Kermit? He looks so...gangly.
Catherine: Adolescent growth spurt, probably.
Piggy: And what happened to his cute little neck frill?
Catherine: Oh, well, um, there was apparently a lot of discrimination against frogs in those days. I think Kermit kept his amphibian ancestry sort of quiet--just trying to blend.
Piggy: (briskly) Well, all I can say is "Viva la differance." Um--I might have to hold on to this photo.
Catherine: No problem. That one's yours. I'm going to try to figure out how to post them so I can show them to some of our dormies--but I need some technical help before I can. (Please someone help me!)
Piggy: So was there anything else you liked at the Smithsonian?
Catherine: Well--I'm still sifting everything in my head--there was so much, you know? But I really enjoyed the Presidential exhibits and some of the war exhibits. It sobering sometimes to think of what other people have given up so that we can enjoy our freedom. Those things were really good. And of course, I liked the gift shop.
Piggy: (perking up) Gift shop?
Catherine: Yes--they had some cute little Kermit dolls and some of your more recent films for sale. I bought a book about Jim. (Smiling) They also had some very lovely dolls who looked a lot like my favorite roomie.
Piggy: Ooh! Did they have the new one--the one with the dark blue dress?
Catherine: Yes--I like that one. It's a little more sophisticated than some of the other dolls they've modeled on you.
Piggy: (preening just a little) Marty thought it was a good update to my image.
Catherine: Marty has very good taste. (Sighs) Honey--I'm beat. I've got a full day ahead of me tomorrow and I've got to get over to the School of Magic before they fire me.
Piggy: (mystified) School of Magic?
Catherine: (Smiling) Don't worry about it--it's an inside joke. (shooing Piggy to bed) It's after midnight--you go on. I'm going to wash up a few dishes and fall in bed myself.
Welcome to the Muppet Central Forum!
Jim Henson Idea Man
Back to the Rock Season 2
Bear arrives on Disney+
Sam and Friends Book
.Want some fresh lemonade?
*stretching out on the couch*
