Swamp Music

Photograph from the Jim Henson Foundation Website

If you are a person of a certain age, you remember the feeling of your pajama-clad heiney scootching closer to the console television, shag carpet softening the distance between point A to point B.   You could never get too close to all of that Muppet magic.

As a child, I don't think that I could quite put my finger on the attraction that I had to the show outside of Miss Piggy's deliciously obnoxious ways.  

As an adult, I know exactly what I admire.   People/Muppets have ideas.   They make plans.   They carry them out.   They stick together.   There's a little singing on the side.   Everyone is better for it.

Jim Henson and Kermit were dreamers who put those dreams into action.   Optimism and hope.   I love that in a frog...and a man.  

Did you watch the televised memorial for Mr. Henson in 1990?   Do you remember watching Big Bird walk up to the podium?   Did you cry like a baby even before he opened his beak?   I did.   For all of his years as a t.v. star, Big Bird is six.   Don't you wish we could protect all of the children of the world from tragedy...even the Muppet children?   I do.

What does this have to do with the Mississippi Delta?   Jim Henson spent his early years in Leland, MS...and that's where Kermie was born.   Thanks to Mike, an avid collector of Muppet memorabilia, our tour bus took a quick, unexpected turn into the parking lot next to Deer Creek.  

I got to get my picture taken with one of my all-time favorite philosophers.   Kermit, not Elvis.   The excitement of meeting up with an old friend was electric.

Kermit's been on my mind a lot today.   Mainly because of the round-the-clock news coverage of a recent horrific event.   For many of us, movie theaters can be magical, nostalgic places.   I have fond memories of seeing the Muppet films on the big screen, and who can forget "Goonies"?   I got sick when E.T. got sick.   I was concerned about leaving the theatre while Han Solo was stuck in that suffocating chocolate bar.   What do you mean the movie's over?   

It's good to be sensitive to how much of the ongoing news coverage seeps into our children's consciousness.   As the adults in their lives, we may need to try to manage how much goes in and how it is digested.   Here's a journal article that may help with that.

The Children's Television Workshop was so thoughtful in providing quality, intelligent programming for children.   And do you remember when Mr. Rogers spoke right to you?   He asked you questions and appeared to listen to your responses.   Isn't it great to be heard, especially when you were a kid?   I'm not here to tell you how to raise your child, but I think we all could use a little more uplifting, creative and goofy fare in our entertainment diets.   Adults included.

Every time I hear this song, I still get all choked up and inspired.   I think it's because I feel so hopeful that maybe there are more lovers and dreamers out there to balance out the conflicts that tend to dominate our airwaves.   I know that you are one of them, and I hope this song reminds you of the magic that comes from films, friends and big ideas.