AFTERWORD

Nineteen years ago today the world lost Jim Henson. A lot of hearts broke--including mine, and I only knew him through his work. I can only imagine how devastating his loss was for his family, friends, and colleagues. A person like that is irreplaceable.

Much is made of Henson's sudden, shocking death from bacterial pneumonia, but I wanted to write something that would celebrate his life and achievements. Showing them through the wide eyes of Jeffrey Jones, who would have been part of the first generation to see and be influenced by Sesame Street, seemed appropriate somehow. I hope other fans of the Muppets enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

A few explanatory notes:

1. Jim Henson and Frank Oz switching the roles of Bert and Ernie during the workshop process is related in both Christopher Finch's The Works of Jim Henson and Michael Davis's Street Gang. It seems impossible that Henson and Oz could ever have played the characters any other way, but that's apparently how things started out. And it's a handy problem for Jeffrey to try and solve.

2. The unnamed man with the mustache is Don Sahlin, the Muppets' designer during the '60s and '70s. He gave many characters--including Bert and Ernie--their distinctive look (he was also a wicked practical joker with a fondness for blowing things up, and he provided the inspiration for Crazy Harry). Sadly, Sahlin died during the second season of The Muppet Show. Michael Frith eventually took over the position of Muppet designer. Incidentally, the two puppets Sahlin is shown working on in the story are Kermit the Frog (of course) and Cookie Monster.

3. For the record, the episode of Sesame Street that Jeffrey shows Bogg is #96; it aired on March 23, 1970 and featured Big Bird's famous Alphabet Song, a lecture by Kermit about hair, and a Bert and Ernie sketch on the number 4.

4. The show intended to promote world peace is Fraggle Rock, which Jim discussed with his puppeteers the day after The Muppet Show's wrap party. He had also talked over the project with various writers and producers, all of whom can remember that he wanted the show to have a positive message about conflict resolution. Fraggle Rock premiered on HBO in early 1983; Jeffrey would've just missed it.

5. I feel I should apologize to blondes everywhere for my silly OFC, Suzanne. She's really not supposed to be typical of the breed. Call it a minor revenge for the times my eyes glazed over when Bogg's weekly love interest was trotted out on the show. The romance angle on Voyagers! tended to bore me stiff--I may be one of the few viewers in existence who never had a crush on Bogg or his portrayer.

6. I could never have written this story without such resources as Muppet Wiki and the splendid DVD commentaries from The Muppet Show and Fraggle Rock. So let me acknowledge my debt and express my appreciation here.

And now, in honor of Jim Henson, I intend to finish off the day by watching something Muppetational or Fragglelicious. Peace!

Life's like a movie, write your own ending. Keep believing, keep pretending . . .