Muppet Moments
I remember that day, the same way I remember watching the Challenger explode. I was an unpopular kid in high school who often fell prey to the unwarranted wrath of ridicule, hate and all around bullying. The world of the Muppets was an escape, and they were (are) my very best and dear friends.
When I came home from school that day my mom met me in the kitchen and with a solemn face said “Andrew I have some bad news.” I said ok and braced for impact. My mom continued… “I want you to know that Jim Henson died to day.” We stood in silence, I murmured some words of disbelief. My Mom just said how sorry she was, I went to my room and cried a little, alone. My dream was to one day meet Jim Henson and work with him, and it seemed that that dream was dieing…..the light was going out of me.
Kermit became my hero, and I have tried to model my life after him. “I am just a simple green frog who happened to make it to the big time, that’s all.”
The moments that really get to me are I think different from what a lot of you have written; they are moments that are not really sad but make me think, and believe in myself, believe in my dreams. Those moments are when the Muppets are most real to me, and when there humanity speaks to my sole. It is a reminder to me that I still believe in magic, and that there is good in this world, and that if we all try together we cam make a difference.
1) On the Muppet Shoe Gonzo tried to tap dance on oatmeal, but he just sank into this giant vat and almost drowned. He was visibly upset once they got him out, and really feeling down about himself and his stunt. Kermit put his arm around Gonzo and comforted him. As they walk together away from the camera Kermit looks back and says to us “Will you just give us a moment?” Fade to commercial.
2) I’ve got a dream too, it is about singing and dancing and making people happy. That is the kind of dream that gets better the more people you share it with. I made a whole bunch of friends, and they all have the same dream, and may be none of them are here with me now. But they are inside of me believing in me, believing in the dream and that makes us a little bit like a family. Who are your friends dock? Those guys? I don’t think you a bad man, and I think that if you look in your heart you will see that you really just want to let me and my friends go.
3) When they read the letters to Kermit after Jim died. I always feel badly that the Muppet gang really did not know who Jim was, and that they were just starting to get to know him. I think they all must have felt that way.
Thanks for listening.
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