I was ruminating this a.m. about Mr Roger's Neighborhood and, in particular, the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. This topic was on my mind in part due to my choice of tee shirt (it's a lt blue tee with a drawing of Mister Rogers on it and it proclaims "It's Good in the Hood"...I tried to find an online pic of this tee to post here, but had no luck. Apparently it is one-of-a-kind Target couture or something). Also, my "Neighborhood" state of mind was due to my comrade Kara's recent (and unwarranted) dis of that show. I am not going to initiate a big debate here, but I will just point out that the Neighborhood of Make Believe is populated by hand puppets...NOT MARIONETTES.
But, a-hem, anyways... moving right along...
I've long thought that X the Owl was curiously named. It always implausibly struck me as a drug reference, as if Fred Rogers was hitting the rave scene(perhaps with his cohort McFeeley) 20 years before there was a rave scene. Yeah, yeah, I know--not very likely. And so the name X the Owl has continued to puzzle me. I may have had a breakthrough this morning though. I now have a viable theory on the matter, one that is at the very least more plausible than Rogers being some kinda innovator in the field of illegal party drugs. I shifted my focus from a study of the owl himself and concentrated more on his relationships with his fellow 'hood of Make Believe inhabitants. He is the most overtly attached to his nearby neighbor Henrietta Pussycat. That's Henrietta PUSSYCAT. The Owl and the Pussycat?? I can't believe I've never made the connection before!!! What if "X" is another way of saying "Ex"?? "Ex" as in "EX-HUSBAND"??? Nowwwww you see where this is going, eh, munchkins?? The crux of my budding hypothesis is that X the Owl and Henrietta Pussycat were once married. But one still wonders-- why are they such good friends (in fact, their pbskids.org online bio confirms that they are indeed friends-- best friends, at that)?? Why none of the bitterness and acrimony that is usually evident in divorcee hand puppets?? Well, there's the other part of my theory for you, the part more intuition-based that I have yet to factually substantiate. (that was a sort of disclaimer) There's something a little, umm, how should I say it...fey about X the Owl. And Henrietta Pussycat is really the feline puppet equivalent of a lonely cat lady (ohhh the irony). She's socially stunted and, to make life even more trying, she has one hell of a speech impediment. In short, she is just the sort of pussycat who, for fear of dying alone under a porch somewhere, would enter in to a SHAM MARRIAGE with a homosexual owl to shield him from the prejudicial malice of more butch owls (think : Woodsy). But in the course of this marriage a deep and profound friendship blossomed until X felt that a sham of a marriage was unfair to Henrietta and insisted on a divorce. And yet, X cares deeply for Henrietta and remains compelled to take care of her. And Henrietta still clings to X , because, as we've already established, she's a social 'tard. This explains their close proximity in their new living arrangements. I've seen these couples on the Tyra show, it is SOOO OBVIOUS that this is the case here. I don't know why they gloss over it in their pbskids.org biographies. The kids are young, okay, but they ain't BLIND!!
Don't get me started on Lady Elaine-- what an ornery drunkard that one is. I had no fear of slander charges whatsoever as I typed that-- it's as clear as the glowy red nose on her face that I speak the truth. As a museum owner/ proprietor I would think she would try to be a more respectable ambassador of the Neighborhood of Make Believe. I know if I was on the board of the N.o.M.B. Chamber of Commerce I would certainly not let Elaine join up ("Lady", my ass). And what kind of museum does she have there anyways---art, history, science?? WHO THE HELL KNOWS?? If I were to guess I'd say it was some kind of anthropological museum... the cultural history of angry alcoholic hand puppets or somethin' like that.
Well, I gotta jet right now or I'll miss the trolley back to reality. Will try to write more later!!!!
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