On 75 Years of Jim Henson
It's no secret to anyone who knows me, has read my journal for a while, or even knows what I use as my usual default icon on most websites I sign up for, that Jim Henson has been a big part of my life for a long time. Now, on the 75th anniversary of his birth, I wanted to take time to remember why that is.
Some of the earliest memories I have are of Jim's work. Not just Sesame Street or the muppets, but of the Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. The Dark Crystal was one of the few videodiscs that the library had available on a regular basis, and I watched it time and time again. When Labyrinth was released, I was hooked. Here was someone who finally, finally understood how my imagination worked, and helped shape it from its early form into what it is today. Today, reading back over the novel I have just finished, I can see Jim's influence there, buried deep within the images that populate the novel. Jim Henson taught me how to wonder, to imagine, and to dream, and I will be forever indebted to him for that.
But it goes even further than that. His work continued to encourage and inspire me, even after his death. Some people have the most vivid memories of where they were when the Challenger disaster happened, or JFK was shot. For me, it was when my mother told me that Jim Henson had died. It was a warm day, a year or so before we moved from the house on Timothy. I remember leaving the room and standing in front of the window in the upstairs hall. I can still feel the warmth of the hardwood under my bare feet as I stood in the patch of sunlight, looking out the window over the backyard and crying. For what we had lost, and also for the fact that I would never now get to meet him.
I was twelve.
And still, his importance to me continues. As I moved from childhood into my life as an adult, I became fascinated with his work behind the scenes. Struggling to proceed forward in my career, I have been to many interviews now in which I am asked to describe my leadership style. And in almost every way, I aspire to be like Jim. Listen to the remembrances on the Henson Company homepage about what it was like to work with him. This was a man who cared about the people he worked with, who loved what he did and wanted everyone to love it just as much as he did, and especially in a day and age where one can turn on the TV and see interviews with Donald Trump talking about the cutthroat world of business and how you can't afford to be soft with your employees, here is the living testament to a man who led by giving it his all, sharing his kindness and generosity, and letting his example inspire others to reach places they hadn't thought they could go. It's Not Easy Being Green is a wonderful book, full of quotes like these, and it gave me something to aspire to as a human being. I'm not saying that I live up to it every day -- he was truly a remarkable man -- but I do try. And every so often I go back and reread that book, to remember what kind of person I want to be.
"When I was young, my ambition was to be one of the people who made a difference in this world. My hope still is to leave the world a little bit better for my having been here.
It's a wonderful life, and I love it."
--Jim Henson
As a storyteller, a leader, and as a human being, the world could use more people like Jim. And despite the teasing I sometimes get, I think, all things considered, I picked a good one.
Happy birthday, Jim. We miss you.
Some of the earliest memories I have are of Jim's work. Not just Sesame Street or the muppets, but of the Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. The Dark Crystal was one of the few videodiscs that the library had available on a regular basis, and I watched it time and time again. When Labyrinth was released, I was hooked. Here was someone who finally, finally understood how my imagination worked, and helped shape it from its early form into what it is today. Today, reading back over the novel I have just finished, I can see Jim's influence there, buried deep within the images that populate the novel. Jim Henson taught me how to wonder, to imagine, and to dream, and I will be forever indebted to him for that.
Click to viewBut it goes even further than that. His work continued to encourage and inspire me, even after his death. Some people have the most vivid memories of where they were when the Challenger disaster happened, or JFK was shot. For me, it was when my mother told me that Jim Henson had died. It was a warm day, a year or so before we moved from the house on Timothy. I remember leaving the room and standing in front of the window in the upstairs hall. I can still feel the warmth of the hardwood under my bare feet as I stood in the patch of sunlight, looking out the window over the backyard and crying. For what we had lost, and also for the fact that I would never now get to meet him.
I was twelve.
And still, his importance to me continues. As I moved from childhood into my life as an adult, I became fascinated with his work behind the scenes. Struggling to proceed forward in my career, I have been to many interviews now in which I am asked to describe my leadership style. And in almost every way, I aspire to be like Jim. Listen to the remembrances on the Henson Company homepage about what it was like to work with him. This was a man who cared about the people he worked with, who loved what he did and wanted everyone to love it just as much as he did, and especially in a day and age where one can turn on the TV and see interviews with Donald Trump talking about the cutthroat world of business and how you can't afford to be soft with your employees, here is the living testament to a man who led by giving it his all, sharing his kindness and generosity, and letting his example inspire others to reach places they hadn't thought they could go. It's Not Easy Being Green is a wonderful book, full of quotes like these, and it gave me something to aspire to as a human being. I'm not saying that I live up to it every day -- he was truly a remarkable man -- but I do try. And every so often I go back and reread that book, to remember what kind of person I want to be.
"When I was young, my ambition was to be one of the people who made a difference in this world. My hope still is to leave the world a little bit better for my having been here.
It's a wonderful life, and I love it."
--Jim Henson
As a storyteller, a leader, and as a human being, the world could use more people like Jim. And despite the teasing I sometimes get, I think, all things considered, I picked a good one.
Happy birthday, Jim. We miss you.