Happy Birthday, Jim Henson

Born today in 1936, this would be Muppet creator Jim Henson’s 73rd birthday.

Today, we look at It’s Not Easy Being Green: And Other Things to Consider. More like a book of aphoristic verse than a commemorative volume, this book collects quotes from the late Jim Henson, as well as his characters, family members, friends, and collaborators.

Cheryl Henson, Jim’s daughter and a current director of the Jim Henson Company, notes that some of the material comes from previously unpublished letters and personal notebooks. Henson advocates a following of one’s own rainbow — “I think if you study — if you learn too much of what others have done, you may tend to take the same direction as everybody else” — and taking one’s own time in doing so. (”No time is wasted time,” says Cantus Fraggle.)

Though some thoughts border on treacly (”When I was young, my ambition was to be one of the people who made a difference in this world… it’s a wonderful life and I love it”), most — especially those in the voices of Kermit and others — contain insight into Henson’s unique life and work.