I want this: Songs from the Street: 35 Years of Music -- It's got everything from It's Not Easy Being Green to The Cereal Girl.


And I want this: Follow That Bird -- I watched that movie so many times, I wore out the tape when I was younger. Gordan and Olivia with Cookie Monster and Grover was my favorite... okay well maybe The Grouch Anthem, too.


And this: The Great Muppet Caper -- The best of the Muppet movies, in my opinion.


This is coming on the depressing news that Disney has finally bought The Muppets. They bought Miss Piggy back in the late 80s, and then the Hensons got her back. But then in recent years, Jim Henson's brat children sold The Muppets to a German company for a cool few million bucks. Then the company folded--and had to sell their rights to The Muppets. So the Hensons were able to buy back The Muppets cheaper than when they sold them. Sounds like a smart move right? They made a whole lotta money off of their father's sweet-hearted and innocent characters. But it turned out okay: They got them back.


Well. They've gone and done it again, and sold off The Muppets again.


I actually cried.


And I keep getting teary eyed as I write this.


As a child, I loved The Muppets. I loved Sesame Street. Heck, I still watch Sesame Street when I don't have to leave for school early in the morning. They were an integral part of my childhood. Until I was 6 years old, I thought Sesame Street was real. And whenever I saw a yellow VW Beetle, I always craned my neck to see if Gordan or Olivia were driving it.


When I lived in Strawberry Valley, my family was driving around one afternoon and we actually came across a dirt road called: Sesame Street. And guess what was parked right at the corner? That's right. A bright yellow Volkswagon Beetle. I went crazy! I started screaming that we finally found it! Because whenever I asked my parents where Sesame Street was, they were always vague and cryptic. So I developed the notion that Sesame Street was like a shifting entity realm, and "doorways" to Sesame Street were constantly moving. Well, that day, when my dad refused to drive down Sesame Street... I guess I grew up a little bit that day.


When I was 7, 8 and 9, we would go to the local flea market regularly. And I ended up buying a lot of puppets. Like full on puppets, that looked life size and exact replicas of Bert & Ernie, Rowlf, Miss Piggy, Animal (he was the best one). I always looked for a Kermit, because he was my favorite. But the closest I got was a really really cool stuffed animal. Never a puppet.


During that time, I started writing plays, short movies, and puppet shows. And I would perform the puppet shows at school instead of doing book reports. Mr. Donald, my 4th grade teacher, always encouraged that creative flair in me. Yes, I was using established characters, but I wrote my own material--come on, I was 9! But everyone loved my puppet shows. When I grew up, I wanted to be a puppeteer for Sesame Street and I wanted to meet Jim Henson.


Jim Henson was my idol.


When he died, it was first time I ever really experienced a true sense of loss. I wept like I had never wept before. I actually greived for him, even though I never was able to meet him. I read everything I could ever get my hands on. I bought his biography out of one of those tissue paper book orders.


But I was still determined to be a puppeter when I grew up. But... when they changed Sesame Street to that weird reggae sound and updated everything, and changed the integrity of the show... I no longer wanted to be a part of Sesame Street or The Muppets. I hated the decisions his family was making. I know they were trying to compete with Barney and whatever... but man... Sesame Street is like the cornerstone for a lot of children, it doesn't need to be newfangled and hip-hop-y (unless Kermit is singing that Hip Hop Song with two cows as backup).


But really... I mean... you'd think his children would understand that they made a mistake selling their father's legacy to a German company. And that they'd be thankful for the second-chance to have them back.


It breaks my heart.


And to Disney.


Man.


It's like a dagger to my heart.

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