Its a sad sad day...

[Fozzie Bear]

All the kids in school used to pick on me over the Muppets, but when they got to discussing things from their childhood that they liked, they would come to me and ask:

Who was the blue guy with the long nose?
Who was that dude in the trash can?


I'd say:

They'd say: "Of COURSE, you'd know!"

And I'd say, "But YOU wanted to know..."

 

[scarylarrywolf]

I had a run-in with this last summer at an art camp I was volunteering at. There were about 100 kids, so each of the volunteers had to keep track of about 5. In my group the first day, one of the kids told me he wanted to be a magician when he grew up He asked me if I was going to be an artist, and I told him I was going to become a puppeteer. He gave me a cocky look (the kind kids give you when they think they know more than you and think you're really weird [all you parents out there can identify]) and naturally went off about how "puppets are for babies". (What an insightful young man! ) So I told him how being a puppeteer was like being a magician in that you make people think that something else is alive when it really isn't. So I connected with him on his interest level and then he had a better understanding of what puppetry really is. I got some respect out of him for connecting on his level.

One other thing that happened to me was when I was younger I tried to form a puppetry club. Only two of us really cared realistically about puppetry, and the rest were just my friends who I wanted in the "club" just to help out with filming little skits. Anyway, one of these friends was having trouble finding his true interests and puppetry was looking less and less interesting to him because he wanted to find something else. So his mom asked him why he wasn't doing puppets with me anymore and he said they were for little kids. She came back at him and explained that when you watch Sesame Street, those aren't little kids undr the puppets, they're adults (physically, anyway). It takes maturity to be able to perform a puppet exquisitly. That opened his eyes again.

I hope these situation remedies can help a little.

--"Scary" Larry Wolf

 

[wockawocka]

Wow, I think it is pretty dumb when kindergardeners and 1st graders and kids around that age say that muppets are for babies. I mean, they still kind of are babies in the adults eyes anyway!

And furthermore, The Muppet Show was made to entertain all audiences that were a bit older, and many adults love the muppets. I guess it's just that most of these people who say that weren't really around when The Muppet Show was out.

 

[sarah_yzma]

my 'cool' phase lasted about 2 weeks. My parents then told me, behave or my life will be heck. and know what? it worked! been freaky ever since! so what if people don't like what I like...this year I'm going to fix it......I've bought a whole new wardrobe for this year...it's muppet-y and soon will have weird al and off kilter in it...

I guess that's why when we talk about little personal saying, mine is conformity stinks......

 

[Don'tLiveonMoon]

I guess that's why when we talk about little personal saying, mine is conformity stinks......

I second that! I've always been kind of an oddball. I used to get picked on a lot in grade school, but by the time I got to high school and college people didn't really seem to care that I deviated from the norm in my tastes. And I found some people with the same interests and obsessions as me. I suppose having a uniform in high school might have helped, since I've never cared about fashion and never will. But it seems that the older I've gotten the less grief I get. My brother is going into 10th grade, and he considers himself an oddball too. He's defiantly non-conformist, and he likes being known as the resident weirdo!
Erin

 

[jediX]

I've always been different from other people and it doesn't bother me... I guess being in band was the nail in the coffin to that. I don't know anyone else that collects action figures and has an entire room dedicated to displaying them (yes, I do have a room thats figure display) but I do, and that doesn't bother me any. Just because someone might make me want to feel bad about it doesn't mean I have to.

I just graduated HS a couple months ago and I really don't have any painful memories of it. Just painful memories dealt from the hands of girls. lol

 

[Fozzie Bear]

As far as puppeteering, very few folks support my love of the craft, and others pretend to.

I've given a friend of mine a puppet to use at my house one night and it taught him how hard it really is to perform a puppet, and now he appreciates it more.

 

[scarylarrywolf]

When people see me working with puppets and find out about my Muppet love they usually smirk and think "Ha! Goofy Kid." I picture them thinking of me as what I call a "Muppet Nerd" -- someone who has an obsession with anything and everything that has to do with Muppets. If you really think about it, EVERYBODY is a "nerd" of sorts -- "Music Nerds", "Fashion Nerds", you name it. The only reason they think lowly of you is because they don't find an interest in your obsession and for some retarded reason won't respect you for it. Don't let it bother you though, cause they're just as nerdy as you are, even if not in the same area.

--"Scary" Larry Wolf