Wait, I'm supposed to talk about old things?

I... uh.... does it HAVE to be about comic books? 'Cause, you know, I can think of some pretty cool old s**t that's not comic book related... What so you mean don't swear? Why don't you come over here and say that?

Anyway... I am eventually going to mention a book... written by an artist. Someone you may not really know who HE is, but you know about who he... er... is.

Most people that know me know that I am an obsessive fan of the Muppets. Sesame Street is right on up there. Besides Jim Henson and Frank Oz, I can't say I really gave any of the other Muppeteers much thought!

Until I read the book "The Wisdom of Big Bird and the Dark Genius of Oscar the Grouch" by Caroll Spinney
Apparently, Caroll Spinney has been my hero for years and I never even knew it... and after reading this short testimony about his work playing "the bird" and everyone's favorite grouch... he's even more of a hero to me!
I drew a lot of parallels to my life and Caroll's. Did you know that he's also an illustrator? No foolin'! He paints fabulous pictures of the character HE made famous... Big Bird. He also talks a lot about his attachment to his Sesame Street friends and offers a very intimate view of behind the scene moments that had me crying... like the death of Mr. Hooper or telling Snuffy he had to go away because no one but him believed he was real. It was touching.

A lot of people nowadays forget the Big Bird used to be THE reason we watched Sesame Street as kids. Not the lil' red punk... whats-his-face. (I kid... I think Elmo is adorable! But he's no big bird). Elmo has taken Sesame Street as his own lately... as he's every boy and girls favorite, upbeat, cute character... that the deep, lovable, not-always-so-bright Big Bird is no longer in the spotlight. When I was a kid... Bird was the STAR. He's the one that they made movies of (Seriously, go rent/buy "Big Bird in China" or "Follow That Bird". They're great!).

I encourage everyone that grew up on Sesame Street to pick up this book to remind themselves that they grew up with Big Bird as a part of their lives and to realize that the man behind him was really quite amazing.

And I want to end this with a little story that has nothing to do with being "Down But Not Out"... just something to do with Big Bird. When I was very young, my mother gave my sister and I a large toy jewelry box that had the usual giant piece of plastic jewelry in it. Everything was a gaudy hot pink, purple, and blue combination... the finest colors Chinese plastics had to offer!

One of the pieces of jewelry was a big colorful locket with a clear plastic door. It had enough room to put a picture or a piece of candy in. My mother suggested that I put something in it to "remember my best friend by". She was probably talking about my sister... or her, who knows. I promptly got up, grabbed a pair of child safety scissors from my table and chopped a large amount of yellow fuzz off of my big bird stuffed toy. I put the fuzz in the locket and that's where it remained until I lost it in the process of growing up.

I wish I still had it. I'd send it to Caroll Spinney, tell him the story and ask him if he'd put a real Big Bird feather in it. I'm a terrible sap, I know...

katie cook
www.katiecandraw.com
http://smarbaby.livejournal.com/