Now, I don't know about you but I honestly never wondered about the human voices behind the characters of the great American children's television series, Sesame Street. Like many children, I just watched the show and enjoyed the lights, music, colors, and raw entertainment.
For those of you who don't know I am an absolute, certified Netflix Junkie: cue awkward silent pause here... well maybe going a little bit overboard, lol, but you catch my drift. What I really love about Netflix is the fact that you can easily find almost anything you want from movie archives, and my most favorite: Documentaries.
So today, I was going on my usual Netflix rounds trying to find something to watch. "Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey" was the first thing that caught my attention.
To my surprise it was quite inspiring to me. It certainly brought me behind the scenes of the hit television serious, Sesame Street and the beloved character, Elmo. It more so brought my attention to one man, Kevin Clash, the voice behind Elmo.
This documentary wonderfuly illustrates Clash's passion for puppets and how he turned his passion and dreams to a reality unlike anything he had ever imagined.
His story was so simple, yet captivating. He had been making puppets since the tender age of 10. He was made fun of not only in his school but from older siblings for his unusual obsession for puppetss, until one day he had one small break and landed a role in a local TV show in Boston where he grew up. One thing led to another. He eventually got to meet all the brain children behind his favorite childhood shows and characters such as Captain Kangaroo, the Muppets, and of course Sesame Street. It amazes me how he took this one obsession and almost seamlessly made it into a reality for himself.
Often times I wonder how people get globally recognized for their talents, deeds and contributions to society, leaving the small knit to hold the fabric of culture together. You know, you hear about stories like Kevin Clash, P. Diddy, Michael Jackson, Oprah, Mozart, Einstein, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and the likes all the time. After taking a close look at contributors like these, I find that they all have one thing in common: passion for something they love. After finding out this pattern, I thought, "This is the key." If I could find one thing, that I am passionate about, really good at doing, and willing to work on it, I can make my little footprint on the sands of time.
Thank you Mr. Clash for showing me what it means to be passionate about something and working hard at it.
Until next time Beautiful People!
~Jay
