Column: “The cups did what?”
It was upon asking around the fifth or sixth bewildered patron that I began to panic.
“Uh, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” one of them said.
In response, I cursed, hit something, then moved on to the next person I knew ultimately wouldn’t be able to help me.
The setting was a Lafayette bar. The company was a group of old high school and college friends visiting from out of town. The chatter was generally nostalgia-centric, but, occasionally, we’d weigh in on pressing current events issues like “Man, I can’t believe X married Y,” and “Since when do you smoke?”
It was an all-around relaxing evening, and my life made perfect sense until about two hours into it all. That was the point I was approached by a local friend named Lindsey.
A quick character profile: Lindsey recently did “Oh, I don’t know … something” to her arm. Something that forced her to wear a sling for a couple of days. That, naturally, was the intro topic, but then we leaned against a table to catch up.
I’m not sure what led to the shift in conversation, but I remember the catalyst for the personal mental craziness that would follow.
“Friends look at me like I’m crazy when I bring up some stuff they don’t remember,” she told me. “Like, remember that old show with the cups floating around the countertops.”
“Wait, what?” I asked.
She pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her arm sling, then clarified. She was talking about some kid’s show. Some stop-motion animated short that featured plastic cups with people (two-dimensional people, she thought) inside. The cup-people occasionally defied physics by dropping through countertops or phantoming through cabinet walls.
The look on my face must have been priceless. I knew exactly what she was talking about. I could hear the voice of the main character (cup?) in my head. The only hitch — the precise one that ruined the rest of my evening — was that I had no clue what the name of the segment was or where it was featured.
In retrospect, I love this stuff. Today, now that I actually know the name of the segment, I’m glad it all happened. It’s so interesting to think that had Lindsey never approached me that evening, odds are I never would have thought about that short ever again. It was such a nostalgia trip. It lifted my spirits during an already happy evening.
But then I went nuts because nobody else seemed to know what on earth we were talking about.
“It had cups floating around on countertops!” I explained to my friend Ross. “Like, they come out of cabinets and dip into the sink!”
“Dude,” he replied. “What?”
Then I’d “ARRGGHHH!” like so much Charlie Brown.
The existence of the Internet ensures that situations like these don’t last weeks. That night, I didn’t think to borrow anyone’s iPhone to peruse Google, so the instant I got home, I logged into a popular message board and fielded the question. The first reply: “Oh **** me, I know exactly what you’re talking about — it was a short on some children’s show, but I can’t remember which one!”
But the Internet is the Internet, and less than one minute later, someone replied with: “Sesame Street’s Teeny Little Super Guy, if I recall correctly.”
A weight was lifted off my shoulders and I texted Lindsey immediately. Even though she, clearly, isn’t 1/3 as dorky as I am about this kind of stuff.
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5 Responses to “Column: “The cups did what?””
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Hmmm, guess I’m not as familiar with Sesame Street as I should be, despite my namesake.
I loved that little cup dude!! Never would have remembered the name of the clip, but the dork in me just had to youtube it when I read the title. Loved that one. They should remake it with beer and wine glasses for the now grown Sesame Street fans.
I’m yet to find anyone that remembers the Shirt Tails, though. How insane would it be if our thoughts blinked on our shirts? I think I might get slapped fairly often.
you’re just as OCD as me.
I was talking to my Paw Paw the other day, and this conversation happened, referring to this article.
Paw Paw Rule: I read your little friend’s article in the paper the other day.
Me: Tim’s article?
Paw Paw Rule: Yeah…Timmy’s article.
Me: Well, was it good? Did you like it?
Paw Paw Rule: It didn’t register with me. I couldn’t understand what he was talking about.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! You’ve got the “70 year old super cajun” demographic on lock!
Ahh, this made my day. I remember that little guy.