Sharpwriters' Thoughts Blog Archives - Archives - July 2001 June 2002 July 2002 August 2002 September 2002 October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 June 2007 August 2007 September 2007 December 2007 March 2008 May 2008 July 2008 August 2008 April 2009 September 2009 October 2009 December 2009 January 2010 February 2010 June 2010 Current Posts Monday, May 09, 2005 Happy Birthday, Kermit! Kermit the Frog has reached middle age. Amazing. Easy if you're green. Fifty years ago I was eight. Maybe I would have watched Sesame Street at that advanced age, but I didn't. Besides, he wasn't on Sesame Street or The Muppet Show or anything you would remember--probably. He was on a show called Sam and Friends, but we didn't even have a television set at our house back then. Research indicates he was green even then, but not yet a frog. Instead, he was more like a lizard. And I thought frogs began as tadpoles, not lizards. Sigh. They keep amending history. Anyway, I didn't actually become fascinated by Kermit until about the summer of 1971. The Puppeteers of America had a convention at Scarritt College where I was a student, and I took some of their classes for college credit. That began my puppet phase, which lasted until about 1974 when I got married. I made puppets, performed, and had a group of kids who started with me when they were fifth graders. It's a favorite period of my life, and I've still got some of the puppets I made then. I would tell you Kermit was my favorite puppet of all time--other than some I made and have a fierce attachment to--but it would be a lie. My favorite was one who performed at that Puppeteers of America event. His name was Gustaf. The puppeteer was Albrecht Roser I named one of my puppets Gustaf the Lesser. Somebody criticized me for selling him short, but I said it wasn't a put-down to be less than the best in the world. Still, Kermit's a neat puppet, and he deserves recognition on his 50th birthday. Happy Birthday, Kermit! May you have many more. PS: Click on the graphic. Share | posted by Barbara Rollins @ 12:47 PM 0 Comments: Post a Comment Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom] << Home