Muppet Fan Testimonials: Patrick Cowles

Patrick Cowles - How did I first become a Muppet fan? Ah, it all started when I was a kid. I was about one year old when I first started loving Sesame Street. I used to (and still do) LOVE Ernie and Bert watching the show on PBS. I went to about two or three Sesame Street Live shows when I was young. In fact, one time I got my picture taken with the walk-around Elmo!

When I was younger, I also loved going to my library to check out VHS tapes of Bear in the Big Blue House. Man, I loved that show. But, one day, the VHS section disappeared. I was so disappointed! Thankfully, Bear in the Big Blue House is still available on DVD for me to watch when I want to.

My family also went on many trips to Walt Disney World. Of course, Muppet*Vision 3-D was my favorite attraction. One time, when I went on it when I was three years, I got scared of Gonzo, but I still loved the ride. Don't worry, I've gotten over my fear of Gonzo since then.

Later, in 2010, when I was 5, there was a huge snowstorm, so we had to go to a hotel and stay there where there was no snow. There was a Barnes and Noble bookstore nearby, so since I love reading, I went there. I got the book Who Was Jim Henson? I just wanted to read a couple pages, before I bought it. That turned out to be the whole book... in 20 or 30 minutes.

That began my obsession with The Muppets. I made regular trips to Disney World to see The Muppets in 3-D. In 2012, I got so excited to see the attraction, I freaked out like Walter hearing about Tex Richman's evil oil plan. So, yeah, I ended up missing the show, and reciting The Muppets' history to a Disney employee. Sometimes, I get a little nervous when visiting a really important Muppet thing.

In 2011, I saw The Muppets in movie theaters three times. I could not get enough of it. Because the Muppets legacy can always be continued. In 2012, 2013, and this year, I continue to be a Muppet fan. Heck, I even got a YouTube channel called Kellnerconsulting. I'm working on a new Muppet fan video on that YouTube channel.

On March 21st, right after school, I rushed home to go to Muppets Most Wanted. Second or third best Muppet movie ever! A couple of days ago, it was May 16th, so, like any other Muppet fan, I remembered Jim Henson. So, as you can see, I am a huge Muppet fan. That's my story of how I came to love The Muppets.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

Muppet Fan Testimonials: Christine Jackson

Christine Jackson - I have been a Muppet fan for as long as I can remember. I was born in the mid-80s so I watched A LOT of Muppets Take Manhattan and of course Sesame Street. My parents had taped many Muppet Specials like Muppet Family Christmas and Christmas Eve on Sesame Street so I could watch it all year round. I believe they took me to see Sesame Street Live two or three times and I watched Sesame Street every day. When I was three years old, I loved the Muppets so much I used to pray for them. There's a home movie of that somewhere... "And God Bless Kermit and Piggy and Fozzie and Gonzo and Scooter and Skeeter..." (apparently I watched a lot of the Muppet Babies too).

I was too young to understand when Jim Henson died but I watched the specials about him that my parents taped off the television. And I grew to especially love the music of the Muppets originally because of the special about Joe Raposo. The messages in the songs and stories of Muppet productions have helped to shape the person I am today.

I’ve always been a big kid--I never wanna really grow up--so as I’ve grown older, through high school and college to now, I’ve never stopped being a Muppet fan. I always have gone back to my VHS tapes of The Muppet Movie and other Muppet related shows to escape back to my childhood. We watch The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Family Christmas every year as a family. There has never been a time that I could say, "Oh, I’m too grown up to like the Muppets."

In the last 10 years, I’ve tried to find more Muppet productions that I never knew of as a kid. I loved searching online to see clips of The Jim Henson Hour, The Storyteller, Fraggle Rock (we didn’t have HBO), Little Muppet Monsters, The Christmas Toy, Labyrinth, Dark Crystal and finally getting to see most of The Muppet Show episodes. (Hey Disney! Please release the 4th and 5th seasons on DVD already!) And I started to collect the DVD versions of all of them. Since I love to read, I was ecstatic to learn more about Jim in books such as Jim Henson: The Works, It's Not Easy Being Green and Other Things to Consider, and Imagination Illustrated.

My best friend and I took a trip to Queens, NY to see the Jim Henson’s Fantastic World Exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image in the fall of 2011. Getting to watch Fraggle Rock episodes on a large movie screen in their theater was the highlight of our experience. We were so proud of ourselves that we made it there.

Unfortunately, only a few close friends are still into the Muppets so I very much appreciate sites like Muppet Mindset, ToughPigs, and Muppet Central. Besides giving fans like me a place to geek out over the goings on in the Muppet World, they also show me that I’m not alone in my fandom.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

Muppet Fan Testimonials: Mitchell Stein

Mitchell Stein - I've been a Muppet fan as long as I can remember. As a kid, I owned Don't Eat The Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on VHS, and I remember watching that thing over and over everyday after coming home from school. Like most kids, I grew up with the Street.

My family also took upon the custom of visiting Walt Disney World at least once a year (which I am incredibly grateful for) and of course, throughout this time I've seen Muppet-Vision 3D many times. Upon seeing that, I automatically knew that the Muppets were hilarious, so when I stumbled upon The Great Muppet Caper in a local library I instantly rented it. Thus, a Muppet fan was born.

Over time, as for some crazy reason, as there was no new worthwhile Muppet productions being released, my Muppet fandom wore off. Luckily, the release of a new Muppet movie slapped me in the face and quickly pulled me back in. The Muppets (2011) was a fun, heart-felt movie with great classic Muppet references. It was the perfect gift to all Muppet fans. It made me proud to be a Muppet fan.

I've been a Muppet fan for over five years at this point, and proud of it. Muppet fans are by far the best fandom in the world as well as the online world. I was pulled into the Muppet fan world first by finding The MuppetCast. From there I found out that the Muppet fan world exists very largely online.

Throughout my time being a Muppet fan, I've met many great people, and had a lot of fun being a member of the greatest fandom there is.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

Muppet Fan Testimonials: Josh Hankemeier

Josh Hankemeier - What can I say that hasn't already been said by fans of Jim Henson and the Muppets?

Thanks to Jim Henson and his colleagues, I have developed a great appreciation for the arts. Muppeteers aren't just "doll wigglers." Frank Oz is a director, Fran Brill is also known for her voice-work in commercials and other places. Jerry Nelson was a musician in his own right (Truro Daydreams). Caroll Spinney was an illustrator and animator years before he set foot on Sesame Street. Most Muppet fans know this, but Caroll Spinney's most famous illustration appeared in Sesame Street's most memorable moment. I refer to, of course, the caricature of Mr. Looper... I mean Hooper.

While thinking about what to write for this testimonial, I considered mentioning some of my favorite collectibles, Muppet moments in TV and movies, even the day I heard that Jim Henson had passed away. I thought about mentioning a list of Muppet-related things I think of during my daily routine. (To cite a single example: there are frequent thunderstorms during the summer where I live. When these storms occur, a bold Transylvanian laugh, "Ah, ah, ah," either runs through my head or slips out of my mouth).

After some thought, I decided to zero in on one specific date and time: August 4, 2012, 1:00PM. This was when I married my sweetheart Jeni Rizio. Although the wedding had some very traditional elements, it also had subtle (and not so subtle) Henson influences. The regular attendee would not catch most of them, but to those with fine-tuned "Muppet senses" could easily detect the influences interwoven throughout that hour.

First up, Jeni and I are friends of Caroll and Debi Spinney. Jeni has known Caroll since 2001 and runs www.carollspinney.net. Caroll and Debi were present when I popped the question on June 19, 2010. Caroll was nice enough to make a little drawing of Jeni and I as "Big Birds" and told us (in Oscar's voice) "Normally, I'd say have a rotten day or rotten anything, but I ain't saying that. Have a beautiful, loving, never forget to tell you how much you love each other marriage." Then he pointed to Debi and (in Big Bird's voice) said "This is Little Bird, so we know what it's like." Debi agreed by saying "Don't have a rotten marriage!" The illustration Caroll drew was reprinted (with Caroll's permission) in the order of service bulletins for the wedding.

The wedding ceremony began with some prelude music. One of the pieces played was "Gelfling Song." Kira's voice never sounded so beautiful as it did coming from the ceiling speakers. It was my turn to walk down the aisle first. Long ago, I had chosen the song "Music Box" from Fraggle Rock to be "my" wedding march song. Fraggle fans will know this is song was from "The Lost Treasure of Fraggle Rock," composed by Phillip Balsam (or if you prefer) by Dwight at the Time of the Third Drafting.

As I walked down the aisle, I wore a tuxedo and a top hat. Back when I picked my tuxedo to rent, I showed the owner of the shop a photo of the type of tux I wanted: it was a traditional one... worn by Luis (Emilio Delgado) from the wedding of Maria and Luis on Sesame Street. A gold pin featuring Kermit on his bicycle was on my lapel.

My top hat was not exactly like a Fred Astaire top hat, but one with a curled brim and a flared crown. Except for being black, it closely resembled the hat worn by the only version of Charles Dickens with a wise-cracking rat as a companion. Tucked in the hatband was a tuft of bright yellow: an authentic Big Bird feather. Speaking of our favorite blue weirdo, I was reminded of the many times Gonzo wore a black tuxedo, whether it was in action figure form, imitating James Bond or preparing to marry Madeline Kahn. In a way, that's what I was: the eccentric, silly weirdo lucky enough to find a beautiful girl.

I walked slowly past the custom-made wedding cake. It was a replica of Ma and Pa Gorg's wedding cake from the Fraggle Rock episode "Ring Around the Rock." My Ma and Pa PVC figures stood on top, just as the same type of PVC figures did in the episode. Thanks to Muppet Wiki, a photo of Junior accompanied it to show people the comparison. I even made Ma a bridal train and some flowers for her hair and hand, just like in the episode. I've heard of a few Kermit and Miss Piggy-themed wedding cakes, but never a Gorg one... well, until now!

I paused before approaching the Justice of the Peace. Next to my Best Man, a large table was filled with photographs. My wife and I had decided to honor those dear to our hearts who were not there for the wedding. It was a mixture of those who had passed away, those who couldn't make it due to their distance and those who we never even met, but who meant a lot to us all the same. I silently thanked my late mother, my father, and great grandparents. Near to them were the following two photos: one was of Caroll and Debi Spinney. The other was of six guys (Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Richard Hunt, Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz, and Steve Whitmire) whom I'm sure regular readers of this site would recognize. I thanked the people in those photos as well. No one reading this article needs me to explain why those pictures were there. Muppet fans understand.

As I put the purple arc anthurium and upright heliconia flowers in the vase next to my mother and father's picture, the Fraggles chanted to the tune of "Music Box." Between the flowers, I saw a miniature radish... Geraldine, lovingly cradled in Junior Gorg's hands. It was part of a sculpture I created for my aunt and uncle some years ago: Marjory the Trash Heap peered at the wedding party through her lorgnette with Philo and Gunge on her shoulders. The miniature replica of the Gorgs' Castle, garden and even the exterior of Fraggle Rock surrounded them all, including Ma and Pa. The onion dome of the bell tower loomed behind the pictures and a box meant for cards for the bride and groom. On one side of the box was a photo of Milton the Golden Toad and Ruth from "Song of the Cloud Forest." (GoldenToad was my name on the dating website where I found my wife).

"Music Box" came to its end just as I turned around to face the congregation. My bride, led by her father, walked slowly down the aisle to her own song. Ultimately, she chose a song not related to Jim Henson, but one of the songs she seriously considered was the Phillip Glass piece from "Geometry of Circles." When the Justice of the Peace began to speak, I was reminded of a portion of the text my wife an I had chosen. Along with the simple vows and the Lord's Prayer, a few lines were included. Again, to those in attendance, it sounded very basic. To us, however, it was yet another Muppet-related reference. Except for the names, this passage was directly quoted from Maria and Luis's wedding:

"Josh and Jeni are making a promise today... a promise to share their lives together. A promise to help one another and care for each other and love each other for the rest of their lives. They are celebrating this promise in front of you, the people they love most: their friends and their families."

The recessional music was not very audible, but was scheduled to be "Funky Chimes" by Joe Raposo. Since the wedding was catered, no one had to worry about any suspicious dishes made by certain unintelligible, Scandinavian cook. The Maid of Honor made a very flattering speech, including this quote by Kermit:

"I really do believe that all of you are at the beginning of a wonderful journey. As you start traveling down that road of life, remember this: There are never enough comfort stops. The places you're going to are never on the map. And once you get that map out, you won't be able to re-fold it no matter how smart you are.  So forget the map, roll down the windows, and whenever you can pull over and have picnic with a pig. And if you can help it never fly as cargo."

When my bride and I left the building, I tipped my top hat to the crowd. As I did, I took one last look at the gathering of family, friends and interspersed references to my heroes. It was a lovely day. One year has passed since then... and my wife and I continue to cherish the fond memories of that day, and look forward to future Muppety adventures. As it said on our wedding order of service, "Life's a happy song when there's someone by your side to sing along." Indeed it is.

My love to you forever and always, my lovely wife...my dear, sweet Jeni.  Happy first Anniversary.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

Muppet Fan Testimonials: Darrin Granter

Darrin Granter - If you look at any Muppet production throughout the years, one thing you will find common in almost every single one is music. Whether it’s The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, or any one of countless TV specials and movies, music is featured prominently.

This is where I come in with my particular expression of Muppet Fandom. You see, for the past couple of years, I've become somewhat enthralled with the social activity known as Karaoke. Most of us have probably been at a karaoke bar at least once in our lives, as a spectator if not a participant. It's like no other form of entertainment, as it instigates active participation from the same audience it's trying to entertain. No matter how talented your voice may be, Karaoke encourages you to express yourself musically.

When I started attending my current Karaoke venue, I was pleasantly surprised to find a few Muppet songs on their extensive playlist. "The Rainbow Connection," "Bein' Green" and "The Muppet Show Theme" were all listed(among a few others), and I looked forward to trying these out. I started out singing some more mainstream songs, as a way to build myself up. But before I sang my first Muppet song, I noticed that they also had the Muppet version of Bohemian Rhapsody. This was it.  I had to try this out as soon as possible.
  
Wearing a Kermit T-shirt and hat, I signed up for two songs. "The Rainbow Connection" and "Bohemien Rhapsody." I honestly don't recall which one I sang first, but I do recall being somewhat nervous that the songs wouldn't be well received with an adult audience, especially those who had been drinking. But my fears were put to rest as I received a respectable amount of applause for both songs. It certainly helped a lot that I had a number of close friends there to support me.

As the weeks went on, my Karaoke visits became more and more frequent, until they started to become almost weekly. I would mix up my song selections with Muppet songs and mainstream songs, as I did not want to become too repetitive with relatively few Muppet songs to choose from.
Then, while checking their latest song list update, I saw they had added "Man Or Muppet." Just like when the Academy Award nominations were publicized, I was somewhat surprised to see this song announced before "Life is a Happy Song." But I still loved the song, and looked forward to trying it out. I decided to invite my friend Kate along to be my duet partner for the song. She was not unfamiliar to Karaoke, but not at this particular venue. We even used the alias "Wayne and Wanda" when signing up for the song. She changed up the lyrics a bit to suit her gender for her part, and it went pretty smoothly.

Also it was that song that also inspired what would become my regular Karaoke alias, "Muppet Man."  Every week I would show up with one of my Muppet hats and one of my many Muppet T-shirts. Occasionally I might wear a non-Muppet shirt, but I always make sure to the hat is still present. I also started actively searching out for other Muppet songs for Karaoke. The people that do the Karaoke are very good about buying requested songs. But they will only get officially released Karaoke versions (no bootlegs). And I was able to track down some more Muppet songs, including the long anticipated "Life is a Happy Song." I sent them an e-mail with links to purchase the songs and true to their word, they bought them.

And for my most recent birthday, I decided to go one step further. I borrowed my friend Doug's Muppet Whatnot, and used him for my song selections that evening including a clever Rick-Roll(look it up if you don’' know what that means).

So that’s the story of my journey as a Muppet Karaoke fan. Hopefully I've inspired some of you to try a Muppet song at your next Karaoke visit.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

Muppet Fan Testimonials: William Coppage

William Coppage - Last week I was texted by a friend asking me if I had ingested anything illegal on accident. My response was no, but I asked him why he might believe this. He said, "I was concerned with all the Muppet stuff you share on Facebook." Now, because of all my Muppet sharing, many friends have returned the favor and shared with me their favorite Muppet YouTube clip. I have also been sent articles and Ebay links to memorabilia. At the end of the day, the consensus is that there is some magic in those puppets that take you back to childhood. It is a feeling that almost everyone can relate.

Both my wife and I are thirty-four. We have no kids, yet. But we both love the Muppets. I found out we shared our mutual love when I took her home to Mississippi the first time. I was born and raised in Greenville, MS. One afternoon we were sitting around the house. I told her of the Jim Henson Museum in Leland, MS (about seven miles from Greenville). She looked at me as if I stowed some deep, dark secret.

If you have never been to the Jim Henson Museum, it is a must for any fan. While it is small in size, it makes up for with its big heart. The museum sits on the banks of Deer Creek, which any fan could speculate the origin, whether conscious or not, of the idea of a frog and a creek and a banjo. Also Leland, to my understanding hosts the origin of Kermit’s name. One of the explanations of name Kermit is traced to Jim’s childhood friend, Kermit, who lived in Leland.

The museum is only three rooms. The main room is a gallery that has photos and one of the early puppets of Kermit. There is also a life-size Kermit that visitors can take pictures with. My favorite room, besides the gift shop, is another small gallery that hosts memorabilia that fans have sent in over the years. Many times some forgotten childhood memory is jogged in that room. I cannot count how many times my wife and I have visited the museum. Whether out of habit, or a feeling of pilgrimage, the journey back home always ends on the banks of Deer Creek.

So why are we all still in love with Jim's creations? Is it the craftsmanship? Is it the personalities of the Muppets? I am sure we all gravitate to one or the other as our favorite. I don't know. I cannot answer it. But I do know that still, as an adult, I am blessed at the love and creativity that I was able to witness. I can only hope that I do my part in sharing it.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

Muppet Fan Testimonials: Erica Rodriguez

Erica Rodriguez - Hi-ho fellow Muppet fans. My name is Erica, I'm 20 years old, and I've been a loyal Muppet fan for about five years now (I'm also an anime fan and an internet culture and pop culture enthusiast, but that's another story). Like with most people, the Muppets have been a part of my life since the very beginning. During my childhood, I grew up watching Sesame Street, Muppet Babies, and a few Muppet specials that my parents recorded on tapes including (but not limited to) A Muppet Family Christmas, Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas, The Muppet Musicians of Bremen, and The Frog Prince.

When I was about 8 or 9 years old, I was watching a tape with the latter two specials recorded on it, but this time around I discovered something else that was recorded on the tape that I never noticed or watched before. It was an episode of The Jim Henson Hour called "The Secret of The Muppets" and it was one of the coolest things I ever saw, not only because Jim Henson himself hosted it, but also because that's when I first learned about all of the behind-the scenes effects, the puppet builders, and the puppeteers and I loved every minute of it.

Then one day a few years later when I was 12, it was 2004 and I was casually watching TV in the living room when all of a sudden my mom came in and excitedly told me to change the channel to one of the news channels because they were talking about something that Sesame Street was celebrating. Interested, I changed the channel and sure enough they were celebrating their 35th anniversary and some of the Sesame Street Muppets, along with Bob McGrath, were being interviewed. From watching this, three things stuck with me: 1) Learning that Sesame Street started all the way back in 1969, which blew my mind. 2) Very brief, but memorable, clips from the very first episode which included Gordon with hair, Big Bird with a pinhead instead of his usual rounded head, and Oscar with orange fur! 3) TRIANGLEBOB TRIANGLEPANTS!

During my middle school and high school years, I stopped watching all of the tapes that I grew up with everyday during my childhood, but every once and a while I would have the urge to go back and watch some of those old tapes again and almost every time I did, it was Muppet-related. This kept happening until one day sometime between late November and early December of 2007, I was 15 and I was watching one of the many old Sesame Street episodes that my parents recorded. Suddenly, I remembered those clips from the first Sesame Street episode that I saw a few years before, and how much I wanted to see more of that. Around this time, I was also spending more time on the internet than I ever did before and I just recently discovered the beauty that was YouTube, so I asked myself, "I wonder if I could find more clips like that on YouTube?" and of course I did and everything snowballed from there.

I spent several days watching hours of old Sesame Street clips including the ones from that first episode, I discovered the Muppet Wiki and spent hours looking through that, I watched several episodes of The Muppet Show and Fraggle Rock for the first time in my life, I watched several behind-the-scene clips and documentaries countless times, and I even made a milk pitcher-shaped cookie jar for my ceramics class in high school with Cookie Monster swimming through the milk trying to get all the cookies floating around.

More recently, I saw The Muppets in the theater last year which was one of the best movie theater experiences that I've had so far, and I finally attended my first Muppet event a few months ago when they held the Jerry Nelson tribute at The Museum of The Moving Image. It was an amazing experience that not only I enjoyed, but my parents and older sister also enjoyed. For the past two years, my obsession for the Muppets has mellowed down a bit, but my love and loyalty for them have not.

To conclude my insanely long testimonial (sorry about that), I would like to thank all of the awesome Muppet fan-sites that I visit constantly and the people behind those websites (including Ryan and The Muppet Mindset of course *wink*), all of the wonderful Muppet writers, builders, and performers that have brought and/or continue to bring the Muppets to life, and all of my fellow Muppet fans who help keep the spirit of the Muppets alive and who took the time to read my really long article. Good day to you all and thanks for reading.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

Muppet Fan Testimonials: Joel Swanson

Joel Swanson - "Why do you love Kermit so much?"

Hearing this question, I turned around to find Captain America looking me square in the eyes from a good two feet below. How do I even begin to answer such a question?

My name is Joel. I am nineteen years old. When introducing myself to a large group, such as at a first rehearsal or on the first day of school, my "fun fact" is usually as follows: "I am a Muppet enthusiast."

I don't remember not being obsessed with Kermit and the gang. My first mental breakdown occurred when my mom accidentally sold my Muppet Babies play set in our annual garage sale. In fact, it got so emotional that the toys were tracked down and returned. I'm not saying I was a bratty kid. I just really loved the Muppets.

I am majoring in Music Theater at Oklahoma City University with dreams of someday performing on Broadway. I take no shame in stating that I owe that dream to none other than Kermit the Frog. The Muppets Take Manhattan opened my young eyes to a colorful, musical world that existed on the stage, and I wanted in. If my favorite frog could do it, so could I. From there, I started auditioning for community theatre musicals, and, step-by-step, I grew up performing as a hobby. Which brings me to today, a young man with solid dreams. And I have the Muppets to thank for that.

Today, however, is a sunny, scorching hot day in Oklahoma. It is summer, and I have put my musical theatre training on hold to take on the role of Day Camp counselor. Week after week, I am looking after 60 kids, ages ranging from pre-school to fifth grade. Perhaps it was my Kermit the Frog iPhone case. Perhaps it was the Kermit swimsuit I wear on Pool Day. Perhaps it was my spontaneous performance of "Life's a Happy Song," on the bus ride to the zoo. Whatever it was, these kids were well aware of my obsession. And it really seemed to intrigue them.

"Why do you love Kermit so much?"

Captain America hadn't given up. The question still stood. Why? Why the Muppets? Of all the things to love in the world, why did you pick the singing and dancing frog, Mr. Joel? Why?

It was Superhero Day. The kids were given the chance to come to Day Camp dressed as their favorite superhero. I encouraged a few who couldn't quite decide who to be to be creative and invent their own hero, and you better believe I had a plan to do just that myself.

I hopped out of my car in full Muppet gear. Head to toe. If I owned Fozzie boxers, you better believe I would be wearing them under my Kermit swimsuit. But, other than that, every piece of my superhero uniform was absolutely Muppetational. Mr. Joel had become my secret identity. For the day, I was Muppet-Man.

As if it were middle school all over again, I initially felt a tinge of embarrassment. The feeling was akin to having to warn a friend before he spent the night that he would be sleeping in the middle of the Muppet museum that was my bedroom. While I am much more confident than I was then, I still feel that I am expected to have "grown up." To think that I was feeling this pressure from a group of six year olds!

I manned up and walked into the playroom.

"Look! It's Super-Kermit!"

I was swamped by mini-Spidermen. I was silly to worry. Of course I was. I am Mr. Joel! Wearing a Muppets Snuggie as a cape doesn't dampen the level of heroism I have achieved as their counselor. Hey, maybe it even heightens it.

"Have you ever seen the old Muppet Movie?"

I am slightly shocked to hear such a little voice asking me this question. What's this? Young Muppet knowledge spanning from before November 2011?

"That's Sam the Eagle. And that's Sweetums!"

A girl named Ellie was pointing enthusiastically at my Muppetational Mosaic t-shirt. I didn't expect this! Maybe I have underestimated the possibilities of young fandom. Or perhaps overestimated my own.

"Why do you love Kermit so much?"

What do I tell Captain America? Will he be able to comprehend thirteen-plus solid years of experiences with the Muppets? How could he possibly know what they mean to me?

“Why do you love Kermit so much?”

“I just do.”

“But why?”

“Well... He makes me happy.”

My pint-sized Captain America seemed satisfied enough with my answer. And, ya know what? So was I.

Today, I realized how much the Muppets truly mean to me.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com