Ode To Kermit
It would be very remiss of me NOT to write about Kermit the Frog in a blog entitled "Pond Perspective". Y'all know this obsession I seem to have about anything frog-like. I have jewelry, clothing, books and stationery, bed and bath paraphernalia, food (yes, someone was actually able to find me frog-shaped chocolates and candies) and so much more in my collection. As most of these were gifts, I really didn't have to work too hard or shell out tons of dough to amass this treasure trove of knickknacks. What will stand out, though, is that I have a lot of Kermit items. Since he is THE most popular frog of all, it is but logical that he has the most varied assortment of products attached to his image.
My awareness of Kermit (like most everyone else) began with Sesame Street. Kids of my generation grew up on the life lessons shared by Maria, Luis, Gordon, Mister Hooper, Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster, Ernie and Bert, and of course, Kermit, on a daily basis. Who could ever forget his newscasts which always began with the immortal lines, "Hi-ho! Kermit the Frog here. Speaking to you from...". More often that not, he was interviewing some nursery rhyme or fairytale character like Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, or the 3 Little Pigs and almost always was the reason why the scene ended not exactly as we expected. Aside from delivering the news on Sesame Street, Kermit was also the long suffering stage manager of a fictional theatre show called the Muppet Show. Through the years, I learned about the brilliant man who had created Kermit and thus went on to love Kermit even more. Jim Henson once said, "I think it's a sense of innocence, of the naivete of a young person meeting life. Even the most worldly of our characters is innocent. Our villains are innocent, really. And it's that innocence that is the connection to the audience." His Muppets were all imbibed with a sense of vulnerability coupled with child-like wonder. We could all see that, and relate to it, as kids. I personally have Kermit and his entire coterie of friends to thank for making my childhood that much more enjoyable. Learning to read and count would not have been the fun activity it was had they not been so much a part of my life. Children of all ages everywhere who continue to watch this beloved show will forever be grateful for the genius that was Jim Henson.
Here's Kermit's signature song for your enjoyment...
It's not that easy bein' green;
Having to spend each day the color of the leaves.
When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold - or something much more colorful like that.
It's not easy bein' green.
It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things.
And people tend to pass you over 'cause you're not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water - or stars in the sky.
But green's the color of Spring.
And green can be cool and friendly-like.
And green can be big like an ocean, or important like a mountain, or tall like a tree.
When green is all there is to be
It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why?
Wonder, I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful!
And I think it's what I want to be.
I can so relate to your collection of frogs! I have an extensive collection of cows (from a mooing cookie dish to curtains!)and a few unicorn statuettes and paintings (unicorns are harder to find and more expensive, hehe). I got a lot of them as gifts, too. Alas, when i got married, Allan didn't seem to keen on having cows and one-horned horses as the theme for our room...tsk, tsk.;)
Kermit rocks. Did you see that photo they released of Kermit when Jim Henson died? Kermit was sitting in JH's director's chair, his arms wrapped around the backrest, looking very sad.
*sniff*
Thanks for linking to my site =)
u l a n
Yup, actually bought that issue. That photograph was so poignant I actually felt sad for Kermit and the other muppets (even though I know it's not logical)...
11:15 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home