It ain’t easy bein green

As a little girl, I just loved that Kermit found it tough to be himself. I grew up watching cable television at home, and I thought broadcast TV was for lame people with no cable. My grandmother never had cable, and I was afraid that meant she was poor. It turned out she was just stubborn, but I didn’t know the difference when I was little.

I only watched Sesame Street at my Grandmother’s house. It paled in comparison to Pinwheel, but at least it had muppets. Kermit was the grand highlight of Sesame Street though. He was deep and thoughtful and sensitive, and it made me feel less alone that he struggled with his identity. “It ain’t easy bein green,” I’d think. “It is tough bein different.”

I also loved that Kermit was on top of current events and he’d always report the news from breaking stories. I was glad he was socially conscious on top of being so in touch with his feelings. “This is Kermit T. Frog reporting.” I don’t remember if I got the joke yet that he was named “Kermit the Frog” and gave “T.” to stand for his middle name in the newscasts.

What really made me love Kermit was how mournful and melancholy his solo songs were. “Rainbow Connection” sounded so sad it could make me cry. He said, “One day we’ll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers, and me.” Regular people didn’t understand the Rainbow Connection, but Kermit knew how important it was to look for that magic understanding between like-minded people, even if they were a minority. And to be green? That was the true test of humanity. If you could survive looking different, you’d be a better person for not fitting in.

Maybe I don’t remember these songs correctly. Maybe the lyrics had a completely different message. What I remember was that my heart broke every time Kermit sang, and I wanted to hold his hand and tell him that I understood why it was hard to be different, but that we’d both be better people in the end.