Listen my friends and I will share with you the true story of a long ago childhood.
Back in ancient times, the 1970’s – in the days before microwave ovens,
cable TV, and VCRs. In the days where boys and girls walked alone to
school (in all kinds of weather, year-round, five miles uphill, both
ways), played on rusty playground equipment which sat atop concrete
playgrounds, rode in cars without seatbelts and happily suffered the
effects of second-hand smoke all day, everyday. Unimaginably
dangerous, but happy times.
Begin Flashback Sequence Now …..
By the time I started Kindergarten in 1970, my
stay-at-home mom had decided to go to work, I’d earned some street
smarts in the rooms and playgrounds of Harrington Park Nursery School
and
at the hands ofunder the influence of my much older siblings, who were 9, 10, and 13 years my senior. I was ready to take Hillside Elementary
by storm while I became what is regrettably referred to as a “latchkey
kid”. Luckily for me, Sesame Street had been on the air for nearly a
year. It was my go-to show after school and before suppertime. Bear in
mind there were a whopping FOUR channels of television programming from
which to choose. I know, impossible to believe, right? The three
major networks (ABC, NBC, and CBS) and PBS (Public Broadcasting
Service). During the hours between school and the call to the dinner
table, the networks tended to show some incredibly boring stuff – at
least to my nearly six-year-old self. PBS rocked!
Ernie and Bert, The Count, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, Kermit the Frog and many, many others were a huge part of my childhood. Thanks to the Children’s Television Workshop‘s educational programming initiative, I was entertained while being taught my colors, shapes, numbers,
letters, and even body parts! Songs like “The Rubber Ducky Song” “It’s
Not Easy Being Green” and “I Love Trash” were perennial favorites. I
may have been left to my own devices, but I was smart enough to let
those Muppets help me along.
Flash forward to 1976…
A lot in my life had changed. I was a worldly
fifth-grader that fall and had left the likes of Elmo and Mr. Aloysius
Snuffleupagus behind. We’d moved half-way across the country and
everything familiar had also, like my favorite Sesame Street
Muppets, been left behind. What I needed was some lighthearted, comic
relief – and low and behold, Jim Henson and his band of sarcastic
mischief makers were there for me! With the premier of The Muppet Show,
I fell in love with the Muppets all over again. Pigs in Space, the
Swedish Chef, Lou Zealand, Fozzie, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Kermit, Statler
and Waldorf – they were there, with a much more grown up humor, just
when I needed them most. While it wasn’t by any means the best bit in Muppet Show history, the memory of those Babies singing “Deep in the Heart of Texas” with Dale Evans still cracks me up! (Watch it here.) The Muppet Show, those beloved characters performing with my favorite actors and comedians became a very important part of my life.
In 1979, the Muppets’ place in my heart was sealed forever…
I was by then smack-dab in the middle of the most awkward year of my existence. The7th
grade was typically difficult, but to me, I was all alone in my Junior
High angst. Bad hair, bad skin, socially inept. The horrors and
indignity of a girl’s life at that age are indescribable. That summer, The Muppet Movie
thrilled and delighted theater audiences (and ME) with the perfect
blend of super stars, Muppets, comedy, and epic musical numbers – Some
of the best songs Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem ever produced were
on that soundtrack. On December 22nd of the same year, John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together
premiered on TV. There was not one second of that program that I did
not love. The music was incredible, the album (actual vinyl) was
purchased at the earliest opportunity and to this day those songs (not
on vinyl) are a part of every one of my annual Christmas playlists.
The subsequent string of Muppet movies, some hits, some misses, has sustained my relationship with my Muppet “family” through the years. Muppet Treasure Island had some very entertaining parts and A Muppet Christmas Carol is a seasonal must-watch at our house. I like the newest Muppet movies alright, but thought Lady GaGa and The Muppets was an abomination. I grew up with these guys and I am extremely protective of them!
From some of my earliest memories, the Muppets
have been an integral part of my life and they helped shape me into the
person I am today. They were there for me after school, made me
laugh when I was an insecure tween, and are forever intertwined with
my Christmas memories. I know that MuppetVision 3D at Disney’s
Hollywood Studios is highly criticized as being worn, old, and outdated,
but those puns, sight gags, and characters are part of who I am! I was raised by Muppets…and I turned out just fine!
Have Muppet thoughts or feelings? Please leave a comment!
This article was originally posted on Lisa's Living a Disney Life Blog.
She can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LivingaDisLife and on Twitter at@life_of_green
Please be sure to check out Lisa along with me and David Hodges on The Disney Exchange Podcast!
She can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LivingaDisLife and on Twitter at
Please be sure to check out Lisa along with me and David Hodges on The Disney Exchange Podcast!
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