On Sunday mornings, my bedroom door slides open and a 7-year-old in fuzzy pajamas, pretending to be a cat, crawls across my bed, snuggles down beside me, and with big eyes asks the one question she knows I won’t refuse.
“Java?”
And we open up YouTube on my phone, find our favorite version of the classic Muppet sketch (Muppet Show episode 122), and settle in to watch with a little shimmy and a smile.
“Java” is a great way to start a day. It’s cheerful but not chipper, repetitive but not monotonous. It tells a perfect, simple story that begins and ends in one song and gives you character, story arc, and even a plot twist ending. Everything you need to know about the story is neatly contained within those two minutes.
“Java” is the tale of a large fuzzy-footed dancing duct tube with eyes (“Mama Java” to my daughter) doing its dance when a smaller dancing duct tube with eyes (“Baby Java”) ventures out and wants to join, but can’t get the steps right and gets smushed and sent on their way with a little “wheeee”, only to return and try again. Eventually Baby Java finds their groove to dance alongside Mama Java before blasting her off the stage and finishing with an adorable celebratory jump.
“Java” is named for the music it is performed to – the Al Hirt’s recording of a composition written by Al Tousan. It debuted in 1965 on Al Hirt’s Fanfare and became a recurring sketch for the Muppets, performed on The Tonight Show, the Ed Sullivan Show, and the Today Show, among others. The puppets were designed by Frank Oz and built by Don Sahlin.
Sixty years later, there remains a genius to its simplicity. It doesn’t ask anything of you. You don’t have to understand a pun or a double entendre. You don’t have to know a particular premise to get a parody. You can speak any language and still understand “Java.”
It’s sweet and catchy with a little sprinkle of charming violence. And it is satisfying every time to see the little guy win. Little Java will not be contained or told they are less than. They learn the game so they can steal the narrative.
If it’s a bad day or a good day, it is still the perfect time to watch two dancing duct tubes. But my favorite time to watch it is Sunday mornings with my daughter pretending to be a cat.
Kids, from a young age, will try to say things they know you won’t like. In moments, they try to say things they know will hurt. In a fit of rage at age 6, my daughter told me defiantly, “I don’t like the Muppets.” But I didn’t get upset. Because of course she likes them. I just silently opened up my laptop and put on “Java” for her for the first time. She quieted, came over and sat next to me. And when it was done, she just said, “Again.”
There are times when the world seems especially dark and unhappy. It can feel full of rage. People purposely say things to hurt others. The bullies seem to be winning.
If I can make a suggestion for these times: “Java.”
Smile at Big Java sending Little Java on their way because that is not the end of the story.
“Java.” And if once isn’t enough, again.
Click here to get smushed and sent on your way on the Tough Pigs Discord!
by Drake Lucas
