Remembering Jim Henson...

[Pinkflower7783]

My own video tribute I made for Jim. I miss him so much. I literally broke down in tears today. I was only 7 when he past so I was too young to understand but now that I am old enough to understand I feel like there's a hole in my heart. For me it feels like he just past. Jim I'm sure your up there putting on Muppet shows. And I have no doubt your still performing Kermit.

 

[charlietheowl]

Very sad. Jim Henson was able to create a series of characters who were not only funny and entertaining, but relatable, with realistic emotions and personalities. He definitely left behind a lasting legacy and I am glad that we are all here to remember it.

 

[Pinkflower7783]

Jim thank you for "the lovers the dreamers and you."

 

[DannyRWW]

 

[Ceris]

This is from my blog on Tumblr - "When in doubt... throw penguins."

"I was terrible. But Kermit was great."

May 16th, 1990 I was living in Victoria, B.C. I had a great apartment, I was doing some theatre, making friends and trying to find my way in this new city, on my own, away from parents and the security of the home town.

It was a beautiful day. I don’t remember how the day began, but I do remember the middle of the day. I was visiting a friend who worked in a television store in a mall. We’d done a show together, or something like that and I stopped by to say hi. We didn’t know each other well, so he had no idea how the news of the day was going to affect me.

So, there we are, standing in the store, chatting and all the t.v.’s are set to the same channel with the sound off. While we are chatting, some news feed comes on to all the stations and I see pictures of Sammy Davis, Jr. and Jim Henson flashing across the screen. Of course, I react and say something like, “Hey! That’s Jim Henson!” I’m excited that he’s in the news, because I think it means he’s got a new project in the works or something. My friends says, “yeah. He’s dead.” Just like that. And I was ready to slap him. You see, this friend and I liked to tease and joke around, so naturally, that’s what I thought was going on and this was one joke I wasn’t going to take.

My head snapped round to him and I said, “Shut up. He is not.”

I’m fairly certain this shocked him. But he continued on to tell me what he’d heard in the news that morning. And I continued to tell him he was wrong and there was no way that this news was correct. I think that abruptly ended my visit at that point. Not sure - the rest of that part is a blur, really. But then I remember the next moment of my day.

I went home to my apartment and as I walked in the door (having blithely dismissed the news I’d been told as patently untrue), my very good friend and roommate had the news on and came rushing to the door as I entered. She looked very concerned and said, “Are you okay?”
I didn’t have to ask…. all I said was, “So it’s true, then?” And promptly fell apart.

I spent the rest of the day watching every news tidbit that I could. I couldn’t understand it and I was very, very angry. I wanted far more news than I was getting and I was really upset at what I felt was a lack of explanation and coverage in the media. I wanted more details. And, I was very angry. I still get angry when I think about the injustice of his early departure. It hurts me every time to tell this story. I can only imagine how his family (muppety and blood related) must feel to this day.

I read every article that was published about his death and I still have a copy of one magazine. I watched the news reports of his memorial and was sad (and again angry) that I couldn’t attend. (What was I thinking? Really? I lived in Victoria, British Columbia and his service was in New York City - I’d never been there and it would be years before I would visit… but I desperately wanted to attend that service. To be a part of that remembrance.) I cried when I read about the condolence card from the Disney company. The grief was constant and I had no vent for this. But I also kept thinking…who was I to feel this kind of sadness for someone I’d never met, (and now never would)? I wasn’t related. I wasn’t special to him.
But here’s the thing… He had made me feel that I was special. He, his team and his work had created so many wonderful stories, memories and feelings for me that I knew in my heart, that he thought I was special. I read the credits to movies because he had Kermit mention how important that was in the opening of The Great Muppet Caper. I direct and teach the way I do because of lessons I learned from him, his team and his work.

In short, everything I know about how to be a good person I learned from Jim Henson. (No offence to my amazing parents and teachers… ) But it’s true. I learned so much from him and I continue to do so every day. So while today is “Jim Henson Day” for a special and sad reason, every day is Jim Henson day for all sorts of wonderful, silly and special reasons.

 

[Pinkflower7783]

I tried to watch The Muppet movie last night but as soon as Rainbow Connection came on I just broke down. I couldn't watch anymore. I must've spent a good hour just sobbing. It was like the tears wouldn't stop flowing. It literally felt like I was grieving my best friend but in some ways I think we all are.

 

[Convincing John]

Thanks for everything, Jim.

 

[Pinkflower7783]

It makes me wonder what does Frank think on a day like this...I'm sure even 22 years later he still misses his close friend a lot...

 

[Hubert]

Combination to Imagination
By Hubert

The world of imagination is locked and bolted securely, to keep people from ruining that world. When they are born, every child is given the combination to unlock world of imagination. Sadly, as they get older, most forget what exactly the combination is. Only a few remember. There is only one way to get back the combination: you must be told it by one of the few who did retain it.

We don't know exactly how it went down, but a boy named Jim retained it or got it back one way or another. His grandmother, Dear, probably played a part, but the important thing is that he got it. He loved it. He lived there. And he wanted to share that lost world with others. He decided to go and make it publicly available. The challenge is that you can't just say, the code is "81481395910395." (That's not the real code). If you did that, anyone could access the world, and anyone could come in and ruin it. Jim needed to figure out a way to make it public enough to be accessed, but not too public. And he did it. He figured out a way that it can be accessed. But only if you look for it.

It's there. Watch Jim's work, think about it, ponder it, understand it. If you listen well enough, you'll hear it. He has a bunch of numbers hidden in his work. You just have to find them and order them. And then you have the key. It's there. I can witness to that. Fact, I have a large debt to the hotel there.

 

[Pinkflower7783]

Combination to Imagination
By Hubert

The world of imagination is locked and bolted securely, to keep people from ruining that world. When they are born, every child is given the combination to unlock world of imagination. Sadly, as they get older, most forget what exactly the combination is. Only a few remember. There is only one way to get back the combination: you must be told it by one of the few who did retain it.

We don't know exactly how it went down, but a boy named Jim retained it or got it back one way or another. His grandmother, Dear, probably played a part, but the important thing is that he got it. He loved it. He lived there. And he wanted to share that lost world with others. He decided to go and make it publicly available. The challenge is that you can't just say, the code is "81481395910395." (That's not the real code). If you did that, anyone could access the world, and anyone could come in and ruin it. Jim needed to figure out a way to make it public enough to be accessed, but not too public. And he did it. He figured out a way that it can be accessed. But only if you look for it.

It's there. Watch Jim's work, think about it, ponder it, understand it. If you listen well enough, you'll hear it. He has a bunch of numbers hidden in his work. You just have to find them and order them. And then you have the key. It's there. I can witness to that. Fact, I have a large debt to the hotel there.

This brought tears to my eyes. Very well done. I can't help but think Jim is looking down on all of us and smiling.