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Chapter Eight
Rowlf sat on his piano bench in the band pit. He stared at the keys. He was too sore to try to play just now. Instead, he listened. He listened to the whistle of boomerang fish slinging through the air. He listened to the clatter and crank of Clifford wrestling with a wrench on the same old light as always. He listened to Kermit and Scooter arguing with some penguins to rehearse somewhere else so that Beauregard could rearrange the sets. He listened to a dozen different people practice singing a dozen different songs. He listened to Animal drumming while the rest of the band warmed up. He listened.
He was good at listening. He liked to listen. His ears were always open to anything and- more importantly- anyone.
But no one was coming to be heard today. And that was okay. Some days were busy: some days no one needed to be heard. That was okay. Days were days, and they passed, and new ones came.
And that was life. Life with the Muppets. Life as a dog. Life.
“Hey Rowlf?” Robin said that night at the boarding house. “Can I sign your cast?”
Fozzie gave him a peculiar look. “Why would you sign a cast?”
Robin shrugged. “Well gee, I dunno,” he said. “But when Sammy Baker broke his leg, everybody signed his cast.”
Rowlf was grinning from his usual seat at the piano bench. “Sure Robin,” he said, “Which cast do you wanna sign?”
Robin hopped over and sat next to Rowlf with a permanent marker. He examined each cast. “Which one do you look at more?” he asked.
Rowlf lifted his paws to consider them. “Hm,” he said. “I guess it’s about equal.”
“I’ll sign this one,” Robin said, pointing to Rowlf’s right paw.
“Sounds good.” Rowlf lowered the cast so that Robin could reach.
The young frog held the marker firmly in his hands and tugged at the cap. When his hand slipped off for a second time, he held it up to Rowlf. “Can you get the cap off?”
Rowlf looked at his cast-bound paws and pinched the marker between two fingers. “I can try,” he said.
“Oh here- let me get it,” Fozzie said. He plucked the marker from Rowlf, yanked off the cap, and handed it to Robin. “There ya go.”
“Thanks,” Robin said. He took the marker, looked at the cast, and tilted his head to the side. It was a blank white cast, completely unmarked. He gently set the marker to it and carefully scribed out:
“Hey,” Rowlf grinned, “You forgot my W.”
“Oops!” Robin lightly scrunched his face at the error and squeezed a small W between the O and L.
“And ‘better” has two T’s,” Fozzie said, watching from over Rowlf’s shoulder.
“Oh.” Robin squished another T after the first one. Then he drew a smiley face, and carefully wrote his name: RobiN. He smiled proudly at his handy work. The best part of being first to sign a cast is that you can take up half of it, and that was exactly what Robin had done. “There,” he said. “See? I signed right on top, so you can see it when you pretend to play.”
Rowlf chuckled. “You caught me, huh?”
“Can I sign, too?” Fozzie asked.
“Sure!” Rowlf said, “Why not?”
Fozzie took the marker from Robin. “I’ll sign on the other one,” he said.
“Hey, what are you guys doing?” Kermit asked, twisting to see over the couch. He was sitting at one end, Miss Piggy was sitting at the other, and no one wanted to sit between them. Rowlf reflected that social awkwardness increased when it led to standing-room-only.
“We’re signing Rowlf’s casts!” Robin said brightly.
“Oh.” Kermit stood up to come and look, ignoring the sudden mad dash to fill his seat and the one next to it. He leaned thoughtfully against the piano. “Can I sign, too?”
“Oh me too!” Gonzo said.
“Sure,” Rowlf said.
“Hey can I sign?”
“I wanna sign, too!”
“Me too please.”
“SIGN! SIGN!”
“Like please, Rowlf?”
“Hey let’s get some more colors!”
“Yeah, make it colorful! These casts are boring.”
“Fer surely.”
“I’ll get some more markers.”
“Who’s next?”
“I’ll sign!”
“Si me too, hokay?”
“Mir, go shvuney!”
“You don’t have to all sign the same one, I’ve got two, you know.”
“Hey don’t bump me, you’ll make me mess up!”
“That’s okay.”
“Yeah, by the time we’re all done, no one will be able to read any of it.”
“Way to be optimistic.”
“Well, it’s true!”
It wasn’t quite true. When the chaos died down, the casts were anything but white. And although it took a well-trained eye, Rowlf could read every letter. “Look,” he grinned. “My paws have never looked better.”
Rowlf sat on his piano bench in the band pit. He stared at the keys. He was too sore to try to play just now. Instead, he listened. He listened to the whistle of boomerang fish slinging through the air. He listened to the clatter and crank of Clifford wrestling with a wrench on the same old light as always. He listened to Kermit and Scooter arguing with some penguins to rehearse somewhere else so that Beauregard could rearrange the sets. He listened to a dozen different people practice singing a dozen different songs. He listened to Animal drumming while the rest of the band warmed up. He listened.
He was good at listening. He liked to listen. His ears were always open to anything and- more importantly- anyone.
But no one was coming to be heard today. And that was okay. Some days were busy: some days no one needed to be heard. That was okay. Days were days, and they passed, and new ones came.
And that was life. Life with the Muppets. Life as a dog. Life.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Hey Rowlf?” Robin said that night at the boarding house. “Can I sign your cast?”
Fozzie gave him a peculiar look. “Why would you sign a cast?”
Robin shrugged. “Well gee, I dunno,” he said. “But when Sammy Baker broke his leg, everybody signed his cast.”
Rowlf was grinning from his usual seat at the piano bench. “Sure Robin,” he said, “Which cast do you wanna sign?”
Robin hopped over and sat next to Rowlf with a permanent marker. He examined each cast. “Which one do you look at more?” he asked.
Rowlf lifted his paws to consider them. “Hm,” he said. “I guess it’s about equal.”
“I’ll sign this one,” Robin said, pointing to Rowlf’s right paw.
“Sounds good.” Rowlf lowered the cast so that Robin could reach.
The young frog held the marker firmly in his hands and tugged at the cap. When his hand slipped off for a second time, he held it up to Rowlf. “Can you get the cap off?”
Rowlf looked at his cast-bound paws and pinched the marker between two fingers. “I can try,” he said.
“Oh here- let me get it,” Fozzie said. He plucked the marker from Rowlf, yanked off the cap, and handed it to Robin. “There ya go.”
“Thanks,” Robin said. He took the marker, looked at the cast, and tilted his head to the side. It was a blank white cast, completely unmarked. He gently set the marker to it and carefully scribed out:
FEEL BEtER ROLF
“Hey,” Rowlf grinned, “You forgot my W.”
“Oops!” Robin lightly scrunched his face at the error and squeezed a small W between the O and L.
“And ‘better” has two T’s,” Fozzie said, watching from over Rowlf’s shoulder.
“Oh.” Robin squished another T after the first one. Then he drew a smiley face, and carefully wrote his name: RobiN. He smiled proudly at his handy work. The best part of being first to sign a cast is that you can take up half of it, and that was exactly what Robin had done. “There,” he said. “See? I signed right on top, so you can see it when you pretend to play.”
Rowlf chuckled. “You caught me, huh?”
“Can I sign, too?” Fozzie asked.
“Sure!” Rowlf said, “Why not?”
Fozzie took the marker from Robin. “I’ll sign on the other one,” he said.
“Hey, what are you guys doing?” Kermit asked, twisting to see over the couch. He was sitting at one end, Miss Piggy was sitting at the other, and no one wanted to sit between them. Rowlf reflected that social awkwardness increased when it led to standing-room-only.
“We’re signing Rowlf’s casts!” Robin said brightly.
“Oh.” Kermit stood up to come and look, ignoring the sudden mad dash to fill his seat and the one next to it. He leaned thoughtfully against the piano. “Can I sign, too?”
“Oh me too!” Gonzo said.
“Sure,” Rowlf said.
“Hey can I sign?”
“I wanna sign, too!”
“Me too please.”
“SIGN! SIGN!”
“Like please, Rowlf?”
“Hey let’s get some more colors!”
“Yeah, make it colorful! These casts are boring.”
“Fer surely.”
“I’ll get some more markers.”
“Who’s next?”
“I’ll sign!”
“Si me too, hokay?”
“Mir, go shvuney!”
“You don’t have to all sign the same one, I’ve got two, you know.”
“Hey don’t bump me, you’ll make me mess up!”
“That’s okay.”
“Yeah, by the time we’re all done, no one will be able to read any of it.”
“Way to be optimistic.”
“Well, it’s true!”
It wasn’t quite true. When the chaos died down, the casts were anything but white. And although it took a well-trained eye, Rowlf could read every letter. “Look,” he grinned. “My paws have never looked better.”
