It was a funeral unlike any other.
Which is only fitting, because Jim Henson was a person unlike any other. Out of a desire to get into the fledgling television industry, Henson morphed into a pioneering puppeteer who understood and used the medium like no one else. From a local, five-minute program that mostly consisted of lip-syncing to crazy records, through the iconic characters he created for Sesame Street, all the way to a worldwide entertainment phenomenon, Jim Henson was a gentle-spirited, soft-voiced powerhouse of creativity.
Almost everything Henson and the Muppets ever did began as an idea in Jim's head, which he would share with his associates, who would catch the vision and eventually make a positive contribution to the world.
But about the funeral...
People were encouraged to dress in brightly-colored clothes. Big Bird walked up the center aisle and sang "It Ain't Easy Bein' Green". There were tears and laughter and a Dixieland band ending it all with "When the Saints Go Marching In".
And in the midst of it was a performance of a song from the musical Snoopy!!!. It was written by Hal Clayton Hackady and Larry Grossman and titled "One Person".
If just one person believes in you
Deep enough, and strong enough, believes in you...
Hard enough, and long enough
Before you knew it, someone else would think,
"If he can do it, I can do it."
Making it two whole people, who believe in you
Deep enough, and strong enough
Believe in you.
Hard enough and long enough
There's bound to be some other person who
Believes in making it a threesome,
Making it three.....
People you can say: believe in me.
And if three whole people,
Why not four?
And if four whole people,
Why not more
and more
and more....
And when all those people believe in you
Deep enough, and strong enough,
Believe in you...
Hard enough, and long enough
It stands to reason that you yourself will
Start to see what everybody sees in
You...
And maybe even you,
Can believe in you... too!
Truth is...What begins with just you CAN spread to others. Whether it's self-respect or a creative impulse or a sense of family within a church, let it start with you and infect everyone around you. If a bunch of felt and ping-pong-ball eyes can bring you to tears (the way the above video does me), who KNOWS what wonders can be wrought because of your unique qualities?
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