Alone with Tubby the Tuba

        Does anyone remember Tubby the Tuba? I found the original (1947)  nine‐minute movie and it is a gem. The storyline is simple: the orchestra makes fun of Tubby because he doesn’t have a tune, then Tubby meets Bullfrog who helps him find one, and at the end the orchestra acknowledges Tubby’s tune. When I was teaching kindergarten we called this a “home‐adventure‐home” story, so I had a good laugh when one of the sites I checked out said that “Tubby the Tuba” was a story for four year olds. That’s just the age I want to be right now.
        I remember first hearing “Tubby the Tuba” on a  78rpm record—no movie or video so I had to create my own images. My favorite part (unfortunately not included in every on‐line version) is when Tubby sings, “Alone am I,” as he wanders into the woods after all the instruments in the orchestra have made fun of him. I never worried about Tubby, nor did I feel sorry for him. Tubby wasn’t depressed; he just wanted to find this own voice and have it acknowledged. He loved himself and loved his own company, and was looking for a way to express himself out in the world.
       I wonder if many of us who are attracted to solitude are trying to do just that? Tubby can be our buddy as we sing along with him.
                    Alone am I
                Me and I together.
                If I went away from me,
                How unhappy I would be.
                Me, and I, oh my.

---