One Word At a Time

This past weekend I went to the Museum of the Moving Image to celebrate it. It was amazing the creativity that went into the puppets and costumes that people had. I think Jim would have been proud.

Jim was the King of Creativity. He was a “yes and” man. Ideas were encouraged even if they seemed to be crazy ideas. He had a good eye for talent and built his group of puppeteers and puppet builders very carefully. He never asked more than he could do, which was a lot according to those who knew him. 

He was an incessant doodler. I can’t say I have seen any of his papers without doodle. There is an entire book on his doodles. And they are delightful. Sometimes you get triangles repeatedly in a lovely pattern. Others turn into the Muppets we know and love so well.

We have so much he did while he was alive from Wilkins and LaChoy Dragon ads to SNL to Sesame Street to the Muppet show to Dark Crystal and Labyrinth to so much more. Personal favorite is the StoryTeller.

Since he has passed, his children have kept the ball rolling with new Muppet material long with all kinds of projects along the way. Now we are getting a special episode of the Muppet Show which is a trial balloon to bring back the variety show.

I think what amazes me the most about Jim Henson is how relevant he still is to the world. An entire generation has been born since he passed and they know who he is and what the Muppets are. I found that out this weekend. This was an all-ages event. A young man won the costume contest dressed up as Jim Henson.

In a strange way he is the mentor to many people he never met. His work and attitude give us something to work towards. His words of encouragement are still read and taken to heart.

Happy Birthday Jim! You are missed.

I am grateful for Jim Henson.

Happy Birthday to the Baggins Boys. JRR Tolkien made this Bilbo and Frodo’s birthday. I expect it is busy at Bag End with some form of party or remembrance. I love those books. I still have fond memories of my father reading those books to me before I was at that reading level.

Tomorrow is going to be difficult for me. It would have been Peter’s sixty-nineth birthday. I have no idea how I am going to react to it. I might write a blog about Peter or I might shut down the entire day. What happens is what happens. I will deal with it.

I have been a bit at loose ends. I have NYCC coming up and the memorial has been set. DM me if you want the info for the memorial. I am looking forward to NYCC because I get to see folks I haven’t seen in a while. It will be nice to catch up with my comics gang along with the friends I have made along the way. 

The memorial is the end of a long road that started with his death. I have needed to get this done for a while, but it was not possible until now. I had hoped to do it around his birthday, but I couldn’t find a venue. Now I have a venue and am working out the rest of the details. It needs to be done.

The will has entered probate. I don’t know quite where we are in the process, but I do know it is moving forward.

After the memorial and the will are sorted out, I am at loose ends. 

I must figure out what is next for me.

 Finding a job has been on going depressing job. I have some ideas that I have to reach out to some people on. I can’t do what I have done in the past. My legs are not what they were so desk job it is. Would I like to work from home? Yes, yes, I would. However, I am will to go into an office. I just want a decent paying job that doesn’t drive me crazy.

Would I like to make the puppets my permeant job? Yes, however, I stink at promotion. My website is a mess. And my business card needs to be redone. It’s funny, I can promote others. It’s really easy. When it comes to me, I get imposter syndrome although I know my puppets look very good. I have impressed others with them. 

This past weekend I went to the Museum of the Moving Image to celebrate Jim Henson’s birthday (9/24/25) with like-minded people. They showed 71 best Muppet moments. Some made me laugh out loud others brought a tear to my eye. 

Along the way, I taught a couple of people how to use their puppets that they had just bought. I felt good passing on the information that had been given to me oh so many years ago. I could see the light bulb go off over their heads as I explained what they needed to do. I think next time I am bringing a puppet or two or pay for a table and try to sell them.

I am grateful for puppets.