The Muppets Take My Back Seat

Song One: Midnight Rider

Artist: The Allman Brothers

This is the first of my 323-part installment of my trek through my iPod using the song title as the jumping off point. And to the commenter in my last post, no, you can not suggest songs to make it harder for me. That's just cruel, funny, but cruel.

Last Christmas, my father-in-law gave me a gift that he said he considered giving to my (then one-year-old) son. I spent the next few minutes trying to figure out what, exactly, could be a great gift for someone who poops in their pants and also for my son. I quickly gave up and unwrapped it to find out that my father-in-law had, in fact, found a gift that was perfect for either one of us.

You see, he got me a portable DVD player. Now I've yet to actually watch anything on it. Apparently my wife thinks I should focus on the road when I'm driving rather than watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. So instead, we break it out for any trip lasting more than three hours for the little guy (who does not watch It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. That, too, is something the wife frowns upon.)

For most journeys (and if I’ve learned anything about driving with a kid is that traveling any significant distance with a kid is ALWAYS a journey, not a trip) we end up leaving in the evening. We put in a DVD and hope it’s entertaining enough to keep him from throwing things at me as I drive until he falls asleep. More often than not, he’s sitting behind me, and since he’s not old enough to have headphones, I get stuck listening to whatever show he’s watching.

Lately, that show has been The Muppet Show. All things considered, I could be stuck listening to something much, much worse (not Barney and Friends, mind you, that show is banned from my home and car). As you might expect, we started with Season 1, Disc 1, which starts off with a catchy little ditty known as Manamana (click for the youtube video). It’s enjoyable enough, once or twice. But as luck would have it, my son LOVES it. So when it’s over, he wants it played again. And again. And again. And again. (If I’m running short of words, I’m going to add a few more ‘And agains’ to get me to 500.)

For the longest time, I didn’t have any visuals to go with the song, so eventually I had to bring the DVD inside so I wouldn’t go insane wondering what kind of sketch would go with the song. (And while I don’t smoke marijuana, I have to assume that if I did, The Muppet Show would make a lot more sense. Some of those sketches were either drug inspired or should have been drug inspired.)

Eventually my kid drifts off to sleep (and, more often then not, so does my wife), leaving me to navigate the final few hours driving home without Manamana, or anyone to talk to. I end up alone with my thoughts for awhile, which can be nice except for the fact that it’s usually getting close to midnight and I’m running on caffeine and would like someone to talk to. Unfortunately for me, my midnight rider is sleeping.

Up Next: Gravity of the Situation by Hootie and the Blowfish

Fantasy Update: Anne Hathaway has yet to call me. In other fantasy news, the football edition of the Fighting Squirrels are in three football leagues this season. In one of them, I’m 7-2 and in first place by two games. The other two, I suck, though I did go 2-1 last week, so maybe my luck’s turning around.