I studied under a Henson...

Sort of.

I was 9 1/2 (cuz evey 1/2 month totally counts) when my parents packed my whole life into some moving vans.  It was my first Indiana Jones red line and music moment.  Heading from Simi Valley, CA to Palmdale, CA, it was April 1990.  Before the move, I had only ever known one home, one city, one private school, and one set of friends.  I was happy.

That all changed the first time I set foot onto my new educational institution.  I had never gone to public school and I was nervous, but imagined it would be similar.  right?  I had no other frame of reference to think differently.  But sadly, that would not be the case.  It was the last two months of my 3rd grade and I was starting over.  None of the kids wanted to like me - one boy even made a gagging motion when I walked in.  rad.  There was one exception - my new teacher Mrs. Henson, whom I naturally gravitated towards because who else was gonna be my friend.  She was a woman in her 50s, quiet spoken and very sweet.  She administered tests to gauge my skills from the other school and pleasantly reported I was already further ahead than most kids.  swell.  I'd have no friends but hot damn, I can read & spell like a champ.

I don't remember if she offered the information or I asked, trying to learn about my new pal, but she said she was Jim Henson's sister in law.  I spent a lot of time tonight googling words to find some reference to her, but came up short.  Queue back the 90s.  say wha, wha, what...!  I loved the Muppets and the Fraggles and the things.  I remember asking if Jim was nice, lightly laughing she said yes.  And with that, the extent of all conversations pertaining to the family was over.  haha geez, I know.  That was IT you say!?  But like many of my stories, the buildup out shines the resolution, so i'm sorry this will likely happen again.

The full impact would hit me later, wishing I had been a little older and a little wiser.  She was the first kind person I met and it would have been super knowing her better and possibly learning some part of the family trade.  But, it wasn't meant to be.  I hadn't thought of her and that first school experience in a while.  But I read today one of Jim's children, John Henson passed away from a sudden heart attack February 14.  That really sucks.  I didn't know him so I can't classify him a cool cat or not, but I keep reading about heart attacks happening to younger people.  It makes me scared.  So hearing about the passing reminds me of the kind lady who helped make 3rd grade a little better and how important it is to keep ourselves healthy - physically and sometimes more importantly, mentally.