If there ever was a man who had such a great influence in my life, it would be Jim Henson via Sesame Street. I've been poking around the web for information about him and I read that he's the gentlest, kindest boss his folks at his company ever had. I'd like to share Frank Oz's eulogy at Jim's London memorial:
"... After the service in New York...I wandered around for days and weeks like many of us did. And, while I worked, and while I was with my family, I thought about Jim. I couldn't help but think about Jim.
I thought of course about what an insane, profound loss it was. And then of course so many images and memories of Jim came back to me. So many images. But one image kept coming back to me—just a fleeting moment. And it was not of Jim performing or directing. It was not of Jim with his family. It was not of Jim with his colleagues. And it was not Jim working so hard, and it was not even of the great, stupid, silly fun that we all had with Jim—that I had with Jim.
But this one image kept coming back to me...Just of Jim, standing, with his arms folded, just having a very warm smile—looking. And, it wouldn't go away. It just kept on coming back. I realized it was Jim, appreciating. I know where I got that image from, I think. It was from the Muppet Show here at ATV or The Dark Crystal, the movie, or wherever we were shooting when we would look back at the playbacks. The television monitor would be right there. We would shoot the movie or shoot the performance, as many of you know. And then we would play it back and judge it. Often we would judge it and say, “Oh, that was terrible. Let's do it again.” But so many times I would see Jim—just appreciating it.
Many people see Jim as an extraordinary creator. I realize that I see Jim first as an appreciator. He appreciated so much. He loved London. He loved walking on the Heath. He loved...Parliament Hill, flying kites. He appreciated it so much. He appreciated his family and his colleagues and his Muppet family. And he appreciated the performances and design of a puppet. He appreciated the art objects that he might buy. He appreciated the detail in a Persian rug. He appreciated...just beauty.
Many times we would have meetings. I've known Jim for twenty-seven years now and this would always happen. And I'm sure some of you will remember. We would have a meeting and if it was a pretty day outside, he'd say, "Gee, couldn't we go outside? Couldn't we? It's nice out there. Couldn't we just go outside? Why sit in here?"
And he appreciated the day. He didn't realize why...why sit in a stuffy room when you could appreciate beauty out there? And I remember when we had meetings he would...often say, "Gee, can't we eat? Why don't we—I mean—isn't it time to eat? Can't we eat while we meet?"
And it wasn't because he was hungry. He just...it was a time to appreciate eating and it was a time to appreciate working. And even when he ate, I remember, he would always take dessert. He loved dessert. And he would...I just have this image of him...when you brought the tray over, I remember him saying, “What—what's that thingy—there?” He was always wiggling his finger and saying, “What's that little dessert thing?” I don't know why, but he couldn't order dessert without wiggling his finger. I'm not quite sure why that is but then he'd say, “I'll, I'll take that, that thingy there.” And he would have it. And then be would eat it. And when be was eating it, you'd hear these little “Mmm's” from him, as he ate the dessert. “Mmmm. Mmmm.”
And it wasn't just that it tasted good, which it did. But it was the time at that moment to appreciate it. To appreciate where he was at that moment—eating that dessert. And I think life was just this dessert for him. I really don't believe that Jim could have been such an extraordinary creator if he hadn't been such an extraordinary appreciator..."
I wish to be a better appreciator now. I wish to always remind myself that there is a lot to appreciate in our lives. Thanks, Jim.