Best of Friends (Part 1)

Ok this is the blog post that everyone who knows me has been waiting for.... this one is all about...

Ta-DA!!! Ernie!  He's cute, he's orange, and he was my childhood best/imaginary friend.

For anyone who doesn't have any idea who Ernie is (he's the orange one)... here is a little bit of history.  Ernie was one of the creations made for the children's classic Sesame Street.  He was voiced by the  Muppetest Muppet Icon ever-- Jim Henson.

 Jim Henson working with Ernie

 

 

Ernie and his buddy Bert (voiced by one of Jim's best pals Frank Oz) were patterned after "The Odd Couple".  Bert was serious and rather dull (just my opinion) and Ernie was silly, and bright, and eccentric.  He played the drums, sang silly songs, outwitted Bert at every opportunity and stole my heart.

Now... my love affair with Ernie did not begin and end with episodes of Sesame Street.  I remember wishing I had an Ernie all of my own.  I remember even making the wish on a turkey wishbone.  Don't remember if I told anyone or not.  BUT I do remember sleeping over and my grammy's house while my parents went on a trip to Spokane.  I was laying in bed watching the lava lamp.  Side note:  How freaking cool was it to have a grammy who would turn the lava lamp on for you when you were kinda scared to sleep?!  It probably belonged to one of my uncles or something but still!  My grammy rocked.  Anyway.  My parents came home late and my mom presented me with Ernie.  It was love at first sight.  I thought about taking a picture of him (Yes yes yes I am 34 and still have my Ernie from when I was 5 or 6). But he looks soooo pitiful.  He's balding, his tummy and arms have been stitched together several times,  he's dingy, and his mouth has mostly peeled off.  He's just too special to be revealed to the outside world, so you will have to be content with a look-a-like.

Ernie became my constant companion and my ultra-ego all in one.  When going over Logan's Pass if I felt scared but didn't want anyone to know-- Ernie would faint.  When I was in the hospital to get my tonsils out Ernie helped me relieve some of my stress and tensions by eating my new crayons.  I must explain... noone at my crayons... if you looked at them they were still pristine perfect never been opened, but boy did Ernie ever get scolded!  Back when my Grandpa Campbell was healthy he use to tease me endlessly about Ernie.  He would tell me what a nice little guy he was and go to pat Ernie's head and then he'd pull his hand back quick and exclaim "The dirty little bugger bit me!".  No matter how many times that happened it totally cracked me up. 
I loved Ernie, and eventually collected many Ernie dolls.  None as special as that first one.  And eventually I donated most of them to a thrift store.  I kept my Ernie though.  Stashed in a box safely in storage.  And for a period of time he was eventually forgotten.  When my girl was young, we went through some hard times and I became depressed.  And then I started to become happy once again, but I felt guilty for being happy.  With the help of a friend and a lot of thought and meditation, I realized that it was going to be ok.  It was ok for me to be silly and happy and eccentric.  So it was then decided that I would add to my tattoos and then Ernie would always be there to remind me that it was ok to be me.

There he is.... tattooed on my right arm.

 

 

I apparently am not the only Ernie obsessed person in the world.  There are a ton of Ernie related products in the world.  As a true Muppet lover I could never catch up even if I bought one Muppet item a day.  Here are a few of my favorites... oh...  any by the way I don't have any of these in case someone is looking for gift ideas.  Hint, hint.  Hahahaha.... just kidding.... maybe.

There are also a lot of... Ernie-like products out there that are rather offensive.  Like the latest trends in Zombernie:

Aren't they just rude?!  Sniff.  Even my husband has abused Ernie's good name by buying the t-shirt with the picture on the right.  People laugh and comment, but when I am near I point out the blasphemy!
I do have my Ernie related dreams though... I would like to actually be in the real Ernie's pressence:

No no no no no!  Not THAT Ernie.  That would be pretty freaky to meet an Ernie that size.... aww... who am I kidding?  That would be AWESOME!!!  More seriously the Ernie I actually mean is this one:

Can you just imagine me with my nose pressed against the glass?  Unshed tears misting my eyes as I am bathed in his glory?   I am pretty sure this one is in the Smithsonian in New York.  What would REALLY make it a special day would be to go to the museum and then go to FAO Schwarz and make a Muppet Whatnot!   Eeeeeeeeeee!   (That was my noise of excitement as I run and flap my hands around).  What is a Muppet Whatnot?  You mean you don't know?  Huh?  Where have you been?!  Really?  Follow this link and check em out.  Sooooo cool.

 FAO Schwarz Muppet Whatnots

 I could go on and on about Ernie, but the only way to really appreciate Ernie is to go watch some classic Sesame Street.  If you aren't a Muppet Freak like me and own almost every DVD they have released check them out on youtube.com.  Here is a good one to get you started.

Ernie and Bert Meet the Martians

So here ends part one of my blog entry.