Wocka Wocka Wocka

So... I'm having a bit of a downer weekend. All the parties I had scheduled for this weekend canceled, which was frustrating as hell for me. The two people I usually spend time with whenever I don't have parties on a weekend are actually in Australia right now. So, I spent a lot of time in the Pilates studio practicing, saw a few movies and actually got to attend Molly's daughter's 8th birthday, which I normally would have missed if I had parties, so that was the highlight. But I ended the day Sunday kind of bummed. Too long by myself in my head with no structure and nothing of interest to do.

A few weeks ago, when I was home, my sister gave me a new book to read. It's about the creation of the Children's Television Workshop and the birth of Sesame Street. It's a great read (it's called Street Gang, for those with an interest) and I'm loving it. I did watch a lot of Sesame as a kid, so the nostalgia was thick around me this afternoon as I sat in Starbucks reading.

I loved Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch and Cookie Monster and all the other Muppets that hung out on Sesame Street, but my favorite Muppets had always been those who worked at the Muppet Theater on Saturday nights at 7:30PM. Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, the Swedish Chef, Camilla the Chicken... I loooooved that show. For some reason, Kermit's voice reminds me of my Dad. Especially when he (my Dad) sings. At my Bat Mitzvah, after my Dad sang an Alliyah on the pulpet in front of everyone we knew, I looked at him and said "Now sing 'It's Not Easy Being Green!'" (Years later, in college, when I was, shall we say, experimenting with things my father would not have approved of, my friend Gary would sing that song to me to further my already rampant paranoia while I inhaled.) Similarly, my father has always had this habit of singing the Swedish Chef theme song whenever he's tossing a salad or pasta. (In fact, I think my whole obsession with the Muppets is because I so strongly connect them with my father in my mind. Dad used to get ready to go out early on Saturday nights so he could watch The Muppet Show with us while we waited for the babysitter to get there.)

So every mention of Kermit in the book has made me want to watch the Muppets again. It's been so many years! I bought a DVD of some shows a few years ago, but never got around to watching it. So tonight, after I finished feeling crabby about my business and lack of people to hang with in Charlotte, I pulled out the DVD and put it on.

God, I forgot how funny it was. And not just in a 'oh, I used to think it was so funny back when I was a kid' kind of way. Funny in a laugh-out-loud as a grownup kind of way. There was so much adult humor in that show. I keep staring at Kermit and trying to see him as just a puppet. Just a felt thing that moves it's mouth up and down. But I can only seem to do it for a second before I get caught up in his personality and forget that his lips aren't actually forming words. The facial expressions are what makes it. I know that it's just his nose getting pointier (is that a word?) but it makes all the difference and changes his whole mood from happy-go-lucky to perplexed and/or mortified.

The Swedish Chef tried to make eggs in a frying pan but instead of laying actual eggs, Camilla the Chicken kept laying ping pong balls. Ultimately, TSC wound up chasing her around trying to put her in the pan instead.

At the Vertinarian's Hospital, Rolf the dog was worried that the dog patient on their table had fleas. Miss Piggy inquired as to why and Rolf explained it was because he hated starting from scratch. When the voiceover started his "Tune in to the next episode..." spiel, Miss Piggy, Rolf, Janice (who was the other nurse helping) and the dog patient all looked toward the ceiling to see where the disembodied voice had come from. I forgot they used to do that every episode. I don't think I understood as a kid.

Elton John sang Crocodile Rock and was eaten by the backup singing Crocodiles at the end.

Watching Kermit and Fozzy sing a duet means so much more now that I know how close Frank Oz and Jim Henson were.

On Pigs in Space, Miss Piggy and the Captain freak out when aliens invade the space ship. The aliens turn out to the Camilla the Chicken still being chased by the Swedish Chef. The voice over offers "Tune in next week and be bored again by... Piiiiiiiiigs Iiiiiiinnnnn Spaaaaace"

Sam the Eagle wants to know why Elton John dresses like a 'stolen car'. Huh? Yet, funny!

Okay, here's a scary moment... Elton John wearing a bedazzled, skin tight pink pantsuit (unzipped to the waist) and a pink bowlers hat.

Anyway, I could provide a blow-by-blow of the rest of the episode but I'll spare you. The point is, even though I haven't seen this show in 25 years or so, it is home to me. Comforting. Puts me completely at ease and totally abolished my bad mood. As soon as Kermit waved his arms and yelled "yaaaaayyyyy" during the opening song, I started to smile.

Sometimes the current fascination with Elmo makes me crazy. I wish Elmo would stop referring to himself in the third person. Sheri doesn't like it when people do that. But there is a whole generation of kids years from now who will be in a bad mood one Sunday afternoon when they are 35 and suddenly, they will see a Tickle Me Elmo doll and it will immediately make them feel better. So long as they don't grow up referring to themselves in the third person, I can accept that.

After all, the Muppet Show DVD managed to turn my downer of a Sunday into a Most-Sensational-Inspirational-Celebrational-Muppetational day.

(The final scene of the episode was of Statler and Waldorf in their balcony audience box talking as the Swedish Chef and Camilla go running through the background. Waldorf says "I hate a running gag!" Get it? Cause it was a running joke through the show and they were running in the background? I loved those two!)