Don't Go Breaking My Heart

I recently had the pleasure of watching The Muppets with a young toddler. We both enjoyed it very much and clapped after every song. The episode featured a young Elton John and a slightly unsettling duet with Miss Piggy who kept kissing his exposed chest hair. Both Elton and The Muppets brought back a flood of memories. In no particular order:

A. I once babysat a kid all summer whose mother instructed me, "And then he will want to watch The Great Muppet Caper two times in a row." And indeed, for 3 months, the child watched that movie twice every day I came over. Oddly enough, I tuned it out completely and don't remember much of it at all.

B. My sisters and I used to choreograph dance moves to our parents records. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was one of our favorites because it had so many hits and much melodrama. Candle in The Wind had us lying on the ground until the chorus when we would rise at the same time Elton's voice did and dance in circles like fairy nymphs around the apartment.

C. I watched The Muppets every Sunday night. It was THE show I looked forward to most. I remember sitting in front of the TV after a shower and letting my hair air dry and loving all the guest stars. I don't think anything like the flamboyant and tongue-in-cheek duet with Elton John and Miss Piggy would fly on a kid's show today.

D. I know that I already mentioned I sang The Rainbow Connection at my 8th grade graduation.

E. My dad used to squeeze us on that ticklish spot right above the knee and say, "Kermie." My niece recently learned that trick on our last family vacation.

F. We also used to have Muppets of our own. At bedtime, my dad would stand at the foot of the bed and enact each Muppet voice and then throw each one to the prospective child/owner of the Muppet. I had Kermit, although my sister had Animal and I totally coveted hers.