The RHLC!

[Ilikemuppets]

Surely you remember Bob, right?

That's funny that she calls her computre Sweetums!

 

[CensoredAlso]

Yeah it's ok, I can see you might not remember if you haven't watched the show for awhile. I stopped watching Sesame Street probably when I first started going to school, because of the time conflict. But everytime something big happened, I always wanted to know about it, like that "Big Bird's Beautiful Birthday Bash" special. All my classmates laughed that I had watched it (though in a good natured way). There's a lot I've forgotten, but I remember the regular human cast. To this day, they seem very comforting and familiar. (Of course, I definitely watched too much TV as a kid! lol)

Ha, a computer named Sweetums. Hopefully, like it's namesake, it will seem less intimidating with time!

 

[CensoredAlso]

You guys might remember Amanda mentioning the song "Shed a Little Light", how it was sung by one of Richard's sisters at his funeral. I completely forgot about that one, but Muppet Newsgirl reminded me when she mentioned "Lonesome Road." Here's the lyrics and a youtube clip with the actual song (remember, they replaced MLK's name with Richard, heh)

"Let us turn our thoughts today
To martin luther king
And recognize that there are ties between us
All men and women
Living on the earth
Ties of hope and love
Sister and brotherhood
That we are bound together
In our desire to see the world become
A place in which our children
Can grow free and strong
We are bound together
By the task that stands before us
And the road that lies ahead
We are bound and we are bound

There is a feeling like the clenching of a fist
There is a hunger in the center of the chest
There is a passage through the darkness and the mist
And though the body sleeps the heart will never rest

(chorus)
Shed a little light, oh lord
So that we can see
Just a little light, oh lord
Wanna stand it on up
Stand it on up, oh lord
Wanna walk it on down
Shed a little light, oh lord

Cant get no light from the dollar bill
Dont give me no light from a tv screen
When I open my eyes
I wanna drink my fill
From the well on the hill

(do you know what I mean? )
- chorus -

There is a feeling like the clenching of a fist
There is a hunger in the center of the chest
There is a passage through the darkness and the mist
And though the body sleeps the heart will never rest

Oh, let us turn our thoughts today
To martin luther king
And recognize that there are ties between us
All men and women
Living on the earth
Ties of hope and love
Sister and brotherhood"

http://youtube.com/watch?v=PkYheh9R93k

Obviously a very touching sentiment. Though it saddens me that we say it all the time, but can't follow through with it in our lives. You know, talk is cheap, actions are expensive, heh.

I also liked the line about "a place in which our children can grow free and strong." It shocks me how often you hear about some form of child abuse on the news. Respect for children in this country is so low. It would be great if more people could take songs and sentiments like this seriously.

Sorry for being all down. Of course, I know there are plenty of people in the world who do take it seriously, and thank God for them. They will never get the praise or attention from the news, but the world is better for them.

 

[Muppet Newsgirl]

Yes, that's right...and it was Richard's younger sister Rachel asking them all "to turn our thoughts today...to Richard Henry Hunt." Same number of words and same number of syllables, so it fit the meter perfectly.

And let's see, according to Amanda, the family all told stories, the Muppet crew was there with their respective Muppets, Ladysmith Black Mambazo sang Amazing Grace, and the chapel was filled to SRO...sounds like Richard got quite the send-off. And he deserved it, every bit. He made us all laugh and smile while he was here on Earth, so I'll bet they set aside a special spot in heaven for him.

I know what you mean, heralde. Every day there's a new horror story in the news, and sometimes it gets so that I can't watch CNN or open a newspaper without feeling really depressed.

And you know...with all the times Richard was spotted reading a newspaper on the set, I'll bet the same thing happened to him from time to time; he probably read more horror stories in the news than he would have liked to. And I'll bet that made him even more determined to make people's lives a little brighter.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

No, I can't really watch the news either. Too much bad stuff on there for me.

 

[Muppet Newsgirl]

But I have to deal with depressing news because I'm a reporter. Fun.

But coming to hang out around here and talk about the Muppets usually makes me feel better.

 

[CensoredAlso]

I've learned two important things about the news:

One is you do need to keep yourself informed. Whether it's by newspaper, TV, radio or Internet. It's your responsibility to know what's going on, especially when other human beings are suffering. Sometimes it can inspire you to make a real difference. (Plus it looks good at interviews).

Two, while you do need to watch the news, you need to keep in mind it does not give an accurate view of the world. It pretty much only delivers bad news, which can easily get depressing. So I would recommend the news, but with healthy perspective and moderation.

It must be amazing to hear Ladysmith Black Mambazo sing Amazing Grace, definitely a unique singing group. And it doesn't surprise me Richard's funeral was standing room only, he sounds like the type who made friends easily (and more importantly kept them.)

 

[Ilikemuppets]

I do understand that MN. And talking about the muppets can make you feel better!

heralde, I do agree that you have to keep yourself imformed in some kind of way. And the news really can inspire you to make a real difference.

My thing with the news is it feel almost like there trying to hare to scare people when the world in not always as bad as they make it out to be. But that does get ratings which pays the bills, so what can you do sometimes? And it is really important to take everything in mordaration.

Richard does sound like somebody who would be a true friend!

 

[CensoredAlso]

It's true, the news does try to make things seem worse than they really are. In reality, these stories are on the news because they're so unusual, not because they're common place!

I've only really started watching the news in a big way recently. At first I watched it probably too much and it really started to affect me. I was upset all the time. I had to pull back a bit and put it in perspective. The whole world isn't like that. And there's things you can do if there's an issue that you really think needs solving.

 

[Skye]

Exactly. And since some stories just seem to be everywhere, they make you feel like it's commonplace, and that it happens all the time when really it doesn't. They want to keep the people informed, but it's bad if they're making people be upset or afraid all the time. You just have to remember to be aware and alert, but also know all those awful things are not everywhere.