My Favorite Muppets, Part 3: Richard Hunt

My my, where does the time go?  Let's see...where was I?

Oh yes, my favorite Muppets!  Today I wanted to look at Richard Hunt.  I've discussed this puppeteer at length in my posts on Scooter as well as the failed series Dragontime, but I never actually nailed down who his greatest characters were.

The important things to know about Hunt were that he was born to be a puppeteer.  He never truly felt as free or as outgoing as he did when there was a puppet attached to his arm.  Through his characters, he showed his childlike wonder, his boundless energy, and his array of funny voices.  He loved to help others.  He was often found performing as the extra arm for a live-hand puppet, meaning he'd be right up alongside Henson, Oz, or Nelson as they performed their iconic roles.

But most importantly, he loved to make people laugh.  He was the puppeteer who would most likely entertain guests by grabbing a random puppet and putting on an improvised performance.  These fun-loving elements bled into his characters, and it's a shame that soon after Henson passed away, Hunt followed.  While he may be gone, he is not forgotten.

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10) Belmont - The Christmas Toy

I always try to include one Muppet based on a pure-design aesthetic and to me, none of them are cooler than Belmont the rolling horse.  (Even the builder Ed Christie chose Belmont as his greatest creation in 22 years of work back in 2000.)  Hunt plays him as more of a dim-witted character who is at once easily-excitable and slow-talking, creating a strange speaking pattern.

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9) Gunge - Fraggle Rock

While Hunt is better known for his turn as Junior Gorg in Fraggle Rock, there is another childish ogre character of his that I prefer more.  So instead, I chose Gunge as the representative from this show.  Along with Philo, the two rat-like creatures serve as right-hand-men to Majory the Trash Heap.  Like Hunt, Gunge is the more naive and energetic of the two creatures.  Hunt tends to find himself playing the "child" character to a more mature counterpart, possibly due to his youth when he joined the Muppet repertoire.  (Of the main five original puppeteers, he was the youngest.)

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8) Don Music - Sesame Street

Before I began this blog, I had no idea who Don Music was.  He was cycled out of the show by the time I had started watching it regularly in the early '90s, allegedly due to the bad influence he had on children (namely, banging your head on hard objects when things don't go your way).  Maybe that's true and maybe it was a good thing to remove him from impressionable eyes, but hey, Hunt was an artist.  And artists get frustrated.  And sometimes they need to release that frustration in destructive ways.  Every Muppet puppeteer used their characters to unleash the feelings that they couldn't reveal in public, and Don Music only provided a cushy felt medium that also produced a funny sound whenever Hunt got upset.  If you can't use a puppet to slam against a piano, what can you do?

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7) Right Head of the Two-Headed Monster - Sesame Street

Richard Hunt and Jerry Nelson were quite the dynamic duo.  They portrayed many live-hand puppets and puppet pairs together so it was only a matter of time before those were combined into a single puppet with two heads.  The Right Head (named "Stein" according to some sources) always seemed to be the more light-hearted and bouncy of the two heads, fitting with Hunt's childlike wonder.  He was the brother who was more likely to get his ego hurt and his confidence shattered.  Hunt enjoyed playing vulnerable characters, and he especially enjoyed playing off other characters, and the wide-eyed Right Head allowed him to do both.

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6) Janice - The Muppet Show

Okay, so Hunt has some very impressive voices in his arsenal, but I always felt his choice for Janice was out of place.  It sounded too much like a more masculine Scooter, which isn't quite the persona that Janice was aiming to capture.  That being said, Janice has an impressive wit.  While based on the valley girl stereotype, she is not a ditz.  She holds her own during the "Veterinarian's Hospital" sketches and she really shines with her ad-libs during the Muppet movies.  Hers is a character I would have liked to see more from outside of the hospital and Electric Mayhem appearances.

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5) Placido Flamingo - Sesame Street

Placido Flamingo is just another Sesame Street pun Muppet.  But that bird can sing with the best of them.  It seems as if all of Hunt's Sesame Street characters had a musicality to them (Don Music, Gladys the Cow, even the mute construction worker Sully could play the piano).  But Hunt really showed off his impressive vocal abilities when performing operatic parodies that taught children how to use the phone.

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4) Scooter - The Muppet Show

Oh wait, I forgot.  No one cares about Scooter.

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3) Beaker - The Muppet Show

I'm a bit of a Muppet hipster, so when it comes to extremely popular Muppets, my knee-jerk reaction is to say, "Yeah, he's funny but he's no Link Hogthrob."  So, I'm always trying to come up with ways as to why Beaker is just a one-note Muppet, unworthy of fame.  But, that one note ("Meep") is such a hilarious one that I can't justify my scorn.  Beaker is quite similar to the character Mr. Bill, in that they both suffer with their falsetto screams.  Even as a child, I was instantly drawn to Beaker because he is such a simple character to grasp, and his lack of a consistent language makes him relatable to everyone, regardless of age or ethnicity.  This was one of Hunt's "fun" characters, and it shows.

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2) Sweetums - The Muppet Show

Although he didn't portray him in his first appearance in The Frog Prince, Hunt made Sweetums his own, allowing the giant's heart and excitement to become a central aspect of his character.  (The first Sweetums was a lot meaner initially).  It's clear that Hunt enjoyed playing around in the puppet, as can be seen in behind the scenes photos and footage.  For the first time, Hunt could really get lost inside of a puppet.

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1) Mudwell the Mudbunny - Fraggle Rock

I know it seems blasphemous to place a one-shot Fraggle Rock character above all of Richard Hunt's iconic characters, but Mudwell was a truly special creature.  His personality, his mannerisms, and even his voice were unlike any character Hunt had portrayed before.  Hunt usually tries to find the humor in every scene he is in, filling in the role as resident clown when needed.  But, due to the story line of his signature episode, Mudwell is a more serious and introspective creature.  It's hard to discuss Mudwell without spoiling the storyline of his episode, but it's kind of obvious what's going to happen when his only episode is titled, "Gone, But Not Forgotten."

After getting injured in the deep caves of Fraggle Rock, Wembley is rescued by Mudwell.  Although Mudwell is more mature than Wembley, they still quickly bond over fun games and songs and food.  However, after his injuries heal, Mudwell rudely kicks Wembley out of his home, and tells him never to return.  Upset, Wembley returns to confront Mudwell for his rude behavior and learns that a Mudbunny's life is very short.  Mudwell passes away in front of him, crushing Wembley's spirit.

Yes, Mudwell is the center of an episode teaching the Fraggles (and the young viewers at home) all about death, and having someone taken away from you so suddenly.  Much like Hunt, Mudwell provided as much joy as he could in his short time on Earth.  This episode would have been production right as Hunt became diagnosed with HIV, so it isn't too far of a leap to conclude that this storyline was influenced by the sad news.

Richard Hunt passed away five years after this episode aired, and while he may be remembered for his more wacky characters, this "farewell" will always represent Hunt's softer side.  However, there was one thing I left out of my episode synopsis.  After Mudwell literally turns to dirt and dust, a new creature is born from his remains.  A young Mudbunny who, while different, retains some of Mudwell's memories and philosophies.

Hunt also plays Mudwell's reincarnated form and establishes that while his body may leave, his spirit may live on.  Whether it be through a metaphysical means or just through memories of the past, he will never truly be gone.  I almost interpret this reincarnation as Hunt's acknowledgement that he is survived by his characters.

While characters like Scooter were momentarily retired after Hunt's passing, the Muppets have the gift of immortality.  Scooter will return, Sweetums will return, Beaker will never go away.  Hunt left a myriad of gifts filled with life and energy that allows us to always remember him.  And that's why I appreciate Mudwell as much as I do.  He was real.  As real as the man who loved to play pretend.

Random Muppets #33 & #34: Joey and Davey Monkey

On the Muppet Wiki, there is a "Random Muppet" button which sends you to the page of one of the thousands of Muppets in existence. I will press the button and discuss the importance of the Muppet that comes up, no matter how obscure. No skips. No redos. This is the Random Muppet Challenge.

Random Muppets #33 & #34: Joey and Davey

These monkeys are BANANAS!

Performers:  Joey Mazzarino and David Rudman

Muppet Universe of Origin:  Sesame Street

Most Significant Appearance:  Sesame Street, February 8, 1993, "Episode 3071"

In 1993, a pair of twin monkeys appeared on Sesame Street, and they had a message for us.  Sponsorships by letters and numbers would be a thing of the past.  Instead, episodes would now be brought to us by bananas.

Our unbiased spokesmen.

Named after their relatively new performers, Joey and Davey only cared about bananas, and they usurped the show for a day to make sure only banana-related programming reached the viewers.

Full Version (but really, it's just more of the same)

Their obsession grew to be so great that they managed to steer any conversation to their favorite fruits.  It seems as if the whole reason they even came to the neighborhood was because they assumed Big Bird was of banana-descent.

Add them to the alarmingly growing list of Muppets who want to eat Big Bird.

Why Are They the Most Important Muppets?

Joey and Davey are virtually interchangeable.  At first glance, it seems unnecessary to have two of the exact same character.  They often speak in unison and have absolutely no defining characteristics to set them apart.  That's what makes them tolerable.

It's fun to see them hanging around.

Each one builds upon the other's excitement, forming their own little club that one can't help but want to be a part of.  Much of this steps from their delivery of the word "bananas."  Rather than shout it obnoxiously, the two place an unnatural emphasis on the first syllable rather than the second, turning a single word into their own catchphrase.  Coupled with the brief pause before the word, it seems as if bananas are a lot grander than we had originally intended them to be.

All hail the banana!

They were perfect additions to the supporting cast because, when used sparingly, they could add a great punchline to any scene.  They bring to mind the simple pleasure of making a puppet out of a sock and just popping it out at random moments to say a quick, funny word.  This is comedy distilled to it's basic form.

Unfortunately, characters on Sesame Street only stick around if they are able to grow in complexity.  After 3 years, no one wanted to here them lyrically pronounce "BANANAS" any more.  It's a shame because life could always stand to be a little bit more bananas.

Altogether now...

Random Muppet #31: Clarice Lemons

On the Muppet Wiki, there is a "Random Muppet" button which sends you to the page of one of the thousands of Muppets in existence. I will press the button and discuss the importance of the Muppet that comes up, no matter how obscure. No skips. No redos. This is the Random Muppet Challenge.

Random Muppet #31: Clarice Lemons

A trusty companion.

Performer:  Unknown

Muppet Universe of Origin:  Sesame Street

Most Significant Appearance:  Sesame Street, May 3, 1988, "Episode 2477"

Sesame Street parodied the Boss's "Born to Run," with the similarly named "Born to Add."

This song was also the hit single for the Born to Add album, whose cover mocked the famous pose in which Springsteen leaned on the legendary Clarence Clemons, his saxophone player.

       

But, as we can see, Bert and Cookie don't appear in the video.  Instead, we get Bruce Stringbean and Clarice Lemons.  Now, the Springsteen parody is pretty spot on, but it seems as if someone made a fact checking error when they went to make a Muppet version of Clemons.

Whoops!

Why Is She the Most Important Muppet?

Eventually, every celebrity will find themselves Muppetized. But some go through a bit of a historical tweaking as they make the transition from human to puppet. Why did Clarence become Clarice?

Well, let's look at the songs.

"Born to Run" takes the perspective of a young adult talking to his girlfriend Wendy, attempting to get out of the horrid life they have found themselves in, living on the streets, moving from place to place.  The aimless spirit of these unprepared individuals is supposed to clash with the notion that America is a magical land that will instantly provide better lives for everyone.  The singer only has Wendy's company to find solace in, because he needs something permanent in his life to hold on to.  Because tramps like them, baby they were born to run.

"Born to Add" is about two kids who like adding, a toddler's greatest fear.

They live on the edge of society.  Mathematical society.

Clarice fulfills the Wendy role of the original. Bruce pleads with her to join him, adding all day long. Apparently, addition is as much of a societal issue as homelessness, because these tramps also have their run-ins with the law.

Addition?!  Not on our street!

Clarice/Clarence are the rocks that the Bruces rely on. Whether during a performance or in the context of the songs, these individuals support each other. Without that connection, the two would be lost, without direction. So yes, Clarence and Wendy had to merge into "Clarice," to become that single pillar of support that you can always...

...COUNT ON!  

What Is Love?

We tend to overcomplicate things.  The curse of our complex brains has resulted in years of analysis, creation, destruction, and boomboxes held over heads all for this tricky concept known as love.

We've said all there is to be said about it.  Yet we can't stop talking about it.  Perhaps it's because, whether we're happy, sad, in it or out of it, we love to talk about love.

Again?

Of all the philosophies out there on love, Ernie and Bert seem to have gotten it correct.  If you ask Ernie what love is, he'll tell you that it's being able to tolerate the negative qualities in another individual.

Love and all its aspects can be the most frustrating concept in the world.  Maybe you're in love and you don't know how to say it or you don't know how to find a balance or you can't meet the needs of your significant other.  Or maybe you're not in love and you want to be or you want to avoid it entirely.  It's strange that the frustration that develops out of this biological concept doesn't surface among our other biological needs.

"I've never been hungry.  I just haven't found the right sandwich yet."

"I could spend an eternity drinking this glass of water!"

"Sleep is just a scam concocted to sell greeting cards."

When it comes time to teach children about love, Bert opts for a different route.  Unlike Ernie, who revels in the bond between him and his friend, Bert bluntly states the obvious, with his song, "That's Love."

Does love deserve all the attention that it receives?  Who's to say?  It is what it is.  Stop worrying about it and enjoy it.  Love what and who you want to love.  If someone loves you, let them love you.  If two people are in love, let them be in love.  Love is nice.  When did it become so complicated?

As we get older, we want to believe that there is a deeper meaning behind everything.  Simplicity is for children.  Complexity for adults.  Just compare Sesame Street's approach to love with that of The Muppet Show.

Is this version better or worse?  Do they even need to be compared at all?

Pictured:  Love.

No one is going to answer this question in a satisfactory matter.  Love is the one element of life that everyone perceives as being unique to themselves and we like it that way.  We can look up jealousy, anger, fear and any other emotion in the dictionary and come to a general consensus on the definition.

But not love.  Never love.  And that's why, year after year, we celebrate it and let it take over our lives.  It's all we can do.

Accept that this is never going away.

To Those Who Wait

Patience is a virtue.

Self control is the hardest ability to master.  And, as our lives become more advanced, instant gratification is always a button away.  Especially, when it comes to our art and entertainment.  With little effort, we can track down exactly what movie we want to watch, what song we want to hear, or what season of television we want to consume in one sitting.  So, when I say that a trip to an art museum is a test of strength, I'm not being facetious.

Everything about the place is challenging you to break the rules.

Welcome to the First Circle of Hell, Cookie Monster.

At first glance, the plot of the 1983 Sesame Street special Don't Eat the Pictures has little to do with the name.  The title refers to Cookie Monster's feeble attempts to refrain from eating the paintings of food that look good enough to eat.  And, being trapped in the Metropolitan Museum of Art all night long, there is quite a toll being placed on Cookie's character.

But why is he trapped in the museum all night?  Well, at the end of a day trip to the institution, Big Bird realizes that he has yet to see Snuffy who promised he'd meet him there.  This was during the time that Snuffy was thought to be imaginary, so, when Big Bird strays away from the adults to find his friend, the whole gang resolves to track him down.  Why they didn't alert the security guard is anyone's guess, but here we are.  The cast of Sesame Street have the museum to themselves all night.

Each character has a little moment to themselves to reflect on the art inside, which reminds us that the passage of time in a museum is a strange concept.  Try to do some people watching the next time you go, and you'll realize that many people struggle to "take in" the art for an appropriate amount of time.  Not including those who are actually educated on the subject of art history, you'll find that many just don't know what to do with themselves.

How long should you stand in front of a painting or a statue to actually experience it?  How long is too short?  Too long?  The point of a museum is to preserve for an eternity.  And at times, it can certainly feel like it.

Oscar amuses himself by admiring the broken statues, considering them to be "the most beautiful trash" he's ever seen.

Is that distasteful?

Bert and Ernie engage in some witty banter, trying to decipher just what exactly is going on in Washington Crossing the Delaware including a safety lesson on whether or not you should stand on such a small boat?

It counts as appreciating art if you make jokes about it.

And Cookie Monster?  Well, he slowly declines into madness over his moral dilemma.

Hallucinations are a normal part of the museum experience.

But just what does Big Bird get into all night?  Well, he meets the spirit of a 4,000-year-old Egyptian prince who has been trapped in the museum and is unable to become a celestial body until he correctly answers Osiris's  nightly riddle.  He also has a permanent smugness about him that probably comes from being an immortal child.

So what if I can't solve a stupid riddle.  At least I got a cool ghost cat.

Big Bird tries to help him solve the riddle "Where does today meet yesterday?"  And, I bet that even before you finished reading that sentence, you know what the answer is going to be.  SPOILER ALERT: It's "a museum."  Yet, we have to follow this story for an hour before they reach that conclusion.  And thus, we, too, learn what eternity is like.

I waited 4,000 years for a giant bird and shaggy elephant to save me.  Just as the prophecies foretold.

The characters aren't the only ones who get cabin fever.  Even Osiris himself, who instituted this idea in the first place, has grown weary of asking this question for nearly 1.5 million nights in a row.  The fact that an eternal powerful deity can succumb to impatience shows how ill-equipped we lowly beings are for the task.

"I even made it an easy question!  It was funny for the first couple centuries, but now it's just sad."

As we live our lives, we get used to the routine and the speed at which we receive what we want and what we need.  But at any moment, the universe can intervene.  And we find ourselves stuck, trapped, and without access to our usual amenities.  It is in those moments we must master our own patience and self control to reach enlightenment.

Take a breath, look inward, and don't eat the pictures.

Light Bird and Dark Grouch

The Taoist concept of "Yin and Yang" refers to the interconnectedness of lightness and darkness.  One cannot exist without the other.  While this concept had been expanded by other cultures to involve similar dichotomies (good/evil, positive/negative), the core idea that both qualities must exist is essential.

Big Bird could not exist without Oscar the Grouch.  Oscar could not exist without Bird.  And neither could exist without Caroll Spinney.

Light, dark, and the bond that holds them together.

Born on December 26, 1933 (Happy 79th Birthday!), Caroll was so named because it was so close to Christmas.  Like a traditional song, Caroll grew up to be one of the most reliable and trustworthy people to ever go into entertainment.  Caroll's interest in puppetry led him to perform on Bozo's Big Top where he showcased his original puppets, Picklepuss and Pop.

The revamped, Muppetized-versions of Picklepuss and Pop that Spinney later revisited.

Henson admired his work, and asked him for the role on the upcoming Sesame Street.  Spinney wasn't sure what he was getting into, but one does not say no to Jim Henson without a lifetime of regret.  Spinney ended up portraying two characters that would immortalize him forever.  Unlike other Muppet performers, who had a handful of signature characters (and played dozens more), these two were all Spinney needed, and it could have worked out more perfectly.

One was a dim-witted giant, small-headed, yellow bird who would play the fool to the humans on the street (both children and adults alike).  The other was an orange, trash-can dwelling monster who would antagonize the neighbors.  Both characters rapidly evolved into the Big Bird and Oscar we know today, but there was more than just a change in the puppets' appearances.

Eventually, it was decided that having the puppeteer visible was just to unsettling.

Oscar, as we know, was based on a child's tendency to be moody, self-centered, and complaining.  Armed with the voice of an unfriendly cab-driver that Spinney witnessed on the way to the studio, Oscar represented all that was wrong with life.  His pessimistic attitude rained on every pleasant occasion, and only the unwanted and disgusting elements of life gave him pleasure.  This may sound unbearable, but frankly, having someone playing devil's advocate to the bright, sunny world of Sesame Street allowed for intelligent conversations and observations.

We love you, you grubby, filthy, ill-tempered beast!

Big Bird, meanwhile, became less of an imbecile and more of a child.  He lacked knowledge, but he was curious and encouraged other children to persevere.  He became the face of optimism, always ready to sing and be merry.  As a result, troubling instances, such as death, unexpected changes and destruction, would hit even harder for the bird, showing that producers were aware of how to approach sensitive topics.

Big Bird ponders his own existence.

The fact that both of these characters are such permanent fixtures to the show is no mystery.  At times in our lives, everyone can identify with Oscar and everyone can identify with Big Bird.  Both even have their own fan clubs (the Grouchketeers and Birdketeers respectively), implying that neither character is inherently "better" than the other.  If the world were black and white, Big Bird would be the hero, Oscar the villain, and that would be final.  But both need to remain on Sesame Street to give the show its necessary depth.

In 2003, Spinney wrote an autobiography explaining what he has learned about life through the viewpoints of these two characters.  It's called The Wisdom of Big Bird (and the Dark Genius of Oscar the Grouch) and is well worth your time.

Although we rarely see the man behind these characters, it is clear that he is a wonderful human being.  He has landed one of the best jobs in the world and, at 79, he still feels like a kid every day.  In 2013 a documentary titled I Am Big Bird shall premiere, and judging by the trailer, life behind the scenes is just as magical as life in front of the camera.

At a time when all other original puppeteers are retiring, he is remaining strong, vowing to continue playing these characters "as long as [he] can keep [his] hand in the air."  Happy Birthday to this wonderful legend, who reminds us to embrace our inner grouch and our inner child.

A hero in bird's legs.

The Greatest Gift of All

On Christmas Day, 1985, Sesame Street got a little stranger.

In 1974, Roscoe Orman, who played Gordon, had originally pitched the idea that Susan and Gordon Robinson should have a child, but the idea was shelved since taking care of an infant on a TV show would be a huge responsibility (especially, when Gordon and Susan have all of those puppets to take care of).  10 years later, Orman had a son named Miles and Caroll Spinney (or his wife) suggested that the baby should play Gordon's son.  This was prior to the relationship of Luis and Maria, and while birth had been dealt with previously on the show, it was never the child of a permanent cast member.  Besides, Miles was already 11 months old.  It would seem kind of hokey to pretend that Susan got pregnant and had a full-grown infant all of a sudden.

So, the Robinsons chose to adopt.

The happy family

The producers decided to introduce Baby Miles to the neighborhood over the Christmas holiday since families would be able to watch with their children and share in the experience.  On Christmas Eve, Gordon and Susan prepared for the big day.

How to Put Together a Crib: Step 1: Make sure you have a giant bird present at all times.

Gordon and Susan are filled with excitement as they struggle to prepare the apartment for Miles.  They are almost radiating with glee, so, although they must remain the rational adults in this situation, they can't help but give in to their joy.  At night, Gordon lets out a "Whoopee!" at the prospect that he is about to be a father, proving that Miles is ready to enter a completely loving environment.

The whole situation is seen through the eyes of Big Bird, who has practically been adopted by Gordon and Susan himself.  The origin of Miles is barely discussed, with the only explanation being that "some children need people to take care of them."  This was done to alleviate fears from the viewing audience, and Big Bird accepts this without question.  However, since Miles is treated like a baby brother, there are still some anxieties from Big Bird.

First, he doesn't understand that, as a baby, Miles won't be able to play with him right away, even if he is no longer a newborn.  He prepares a surprise party filled with games and toys, but Gordon and Susan don't have time to stick around.  As they leave to pick up Miles, Big Bird begins to worry that they'll run out of love when the baby is around, as per suggested by Telly.

This is why you should never listen to Telly when you are having an existential crisis.

As soon as the new parents return home, they have to quickly rush inside to take care of Miles, leaving no time for Big Bird's party.  Big Bird gets swept up in the ruckus and tries to remain relevant as Gordon and Susan change their first diaper.

Hopefully, baby Miles will not be traumatized by any of this.

But all of Big Bird's fears come to fruition as it becomes evident that Miles demands more attention than he does now.

All Big Bird is good for now is holding baby powder.

When Miles finally falls asleep, Big Bird jumps at his chance, but is once again shut down and told to be quiet.  At the end of his rope, Big Bird becomes a basket case, and Gordon has to pull him aside and reassure him that it's impossible to "run out of love."  A baby is a large responsibility and now he will have less time to play with Big Bird, but that doesn't mean his love will decrease.  Big Bird learns that it is important for the baby to receive more attention, and him less.  Each of them are at different stages of their lives.

Big Bird happens to suffer from arrested development, so his concerns are justified.

Big Bird accepts his new situation and, finally, everyone can meet Miles proper at Big Bird's party.  The next few episodes continued the introduction of the baby, as Big Bird and others learn more about what being a parent/older sibling entails.  It means a lot of sacrifice, but loving parents wouldn't trade it for the world.  Everyone can enjoy the gift of a new life.

Even Oscar loves the fact that the baby keeps everyone up all night long.

That Christmas, everyone on the street received the greatest gift imaginable.  Yes, the gift comes with great responsibility and a relinquishing of old standards and comfort.  But it was a change that all needed to experience.  Gordon, Susan, Big Bird, the children at home, and especially, Miles.  Miles found a new home, probably the most loving home any baby could possibly find themselves in.  Many children grew up on Sesame Street, but Miles was the first to have the chance to grow up on Sesame Street.

Unfortunately, he never developed a healthy fear of vampires, as a result.

To all of you, a Merry Christmas!  May you receive what you desire, what you need and what you deserve, and may the love in your life never diminish.