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Wednesday, November 29, 2006

 

Goodbye to Greg Wiggle

No fewer than three people have e-mailed me today to flag this important breaking news, and who am I to hoard the information all to myself. Heck, if it's important enough to appear in the Globe and Mail, it merits attention in blog.

We'd been hearing rumours for a while now that Greg Page, also known as Yellow Wiggle Greg, is quite ill. When the musical quartet visited Ottawa last month, the yellow shirt was worn by a fellow called "Sam". (We didn't make it to the show this year. $200 for Wiggles tickets once in a lifetime is more than enough for us!)

It's surprisingly difficult to find any references as to who exactly Sam is. In the words of one of my faithful sources *waves to Fryman*, "Isn't this on the same scale as the break-up of the Beatles or Beyonce leaving Destiny's Child or at least David Lee Roth leaving Van Halen? Isn't there supposed to be tons of rumor and speculation? I mean, what is this world coming to when we can't speculate and spread false innuendo when something like this happens."

According to the Globe article, Greg Page is sick with an undiagnosed but severe illness that has been plaguing him since June. An official announcement is anticipated on Thursday.

The one thing Simon has consistently asked for this Christmas is the Hot Potatoes Live DVD, and his absolute favourite piece of clothing is a long-sleeved Wiggles shirt donated by a dear friend. He takes it off, puts it in the hamper, and turns to ask me if his Wiggles shirt is clean.

I don't think I'll use Greg's departure as a teaching moment myself. I think we can safely keep Simon immersed in pre-2007 Wiggles paraphenalia for as long as required. There are some realities that a not-quite three-year-old shouldn't have to face. (I'm just glad I was well beyond my Sesame Street years when Mr Hooper died!)