Waka Waka

Well this has been a long time coming. Goodness I haven't written anything here in over a month. I apologize for that. I have just been somewhat bogged down in life lately. Until recently I have been longing for home and been wishing I could find something to inspire me. Until last night, A few friends of mine did something with me that made me feel like a kid again. We watched the Muppets.

Now I know not everyone knows who the Muppets are. I had the fortune of seeing the rerun years of the Muppets on the old Disney channel when they still showed proper cartoons. Not today's Disney shows that try to Shoehorn a moral and lesson into each episode, put proper cartoons. The ones that were entertaining and subtle. The Muppets may have been a few years ahead of my understanding, but I still enjoyed it. Each character encapsulating a young child's attitude at any given time.

Kermet was the timid and shy child in all of us, who wanted to be liked but was just a bit to afraid of the lime light to take over. Did his fears come from the fact that his presence wasn't wanted? Or was it a selfless act of modesty. Or am I looking to much into a kooky green frog's mind set? Who's to say, but what I can say is he was one of the most polite characters from my TV life. Occasionally he had an outburst, but everyone has a limit, and 5 seasons is quite a long time.

Fozzie Bear being to goofy innocent that childhood brings. Yea we can be funny, and yea more times than not our jokes are going to bomb. But Fozzie never cared. He wasn't trying to hog the stage. He just wanted to make us chuckle, just a little bit. He inspired the tired and predictable puns that are rampant in any kindergarten setting.

The Great Gonzo, how could you forget about him. He taught us to be daring. To be rash and unpredictable. Did his antics always succeed? No...but he tried, and that is what I want us all to hold onto. If he didn't try he never would have been the Great Gonzo, he'd have been Just Gonzo, or Oh Yea Gonzo. He inspired ridiculous acts like wearing our towels like capes, and to proclaim our awesomeness to everyone we met. And I know for certain his daring acts inspired a young middle american boy to attempt the most somersaults seen anywhere, with the assistance of a flight of stairs and a gravity. Did my, er his misadventure work? No...but he tried.

Animal. What can I say about this Muppet. Animal was a run away winner with so many kids. He didn't have a lot to say. Nor could we understand half of what he said. But his actions were more important than his words. He was the irrational part of anyone's mind who has ever acted without thinking. He didn't act out in the hopes to hurt other people's feelings. He acted out what he thought. Later their might be signs of regret, but most of the time, Animal did what Animal did. If you had a problem with that, that was your problem and it wasn't going to bog him down. He embodied the irrational actions we are all guilty of. From this I pose the question, should we really make someone feel guilty for acting quickly and without thought? Should we hold it against them for acting on a whim. True we shouldn't get carried away all the time, but can you blame someone for being themselves. What we are doing is cutting off people's ability to express themselves and figure out what they are.

What I am saying from all of this is yes the Muppets aren't quite "safe for children". Their are exploding experiments, and prat hitting, and firing Muppets out of a cannon and other things that are suppose to be dangerous to impressional children. And to those people I say the following. Bollocks. Children are suppose to be impulsive, and a bit selfish, and be a bit dangerous. All in moderation. When that kid, who will remain anonymous rolled himself down the stairs, yea he got hurt. But I learned from that. Yea the plan seemed like an awesome idea, but it taught me to think things through to a certain extent. I was able to make a decision for myself. "Maybe I shouldn't do that again, the pros of this activity are not worth the pain of failure." Telling jokes in class may get you in trouble and get you get sent out into the hall, but from this you learn timing and appropriateness. "Maybe I shouldn't have said That's what she said when Ms. So-and-So was explaining the biology of that rat. Next time I won't shout it out loud."

Bring back the music, bring back the makeup, it's time to get it started, and bring back the Muppets tonight.