Update, 3/14/10:
I suppose it's time I offered commentary on all the happenings.
At this point the Floppy Facebook page seems to catch a lot more people's attention than this site. Which is fine. Maybe down the line I'll have decisions to make about whether it's worth it to keep the site up or not, but for now I think it is.
I'm glad that the Elletts allowed the Floppy DVD/shirt/event stuff to happen. I had a good time at the film festival and enjoyed having a chance to share the special Floppy experience with my son. He had a great time and giggled at all the cartoons; I wish they could be on the DVD.
It's great that new legitimate shirts have made it out there, and I hope most of the people who have been wanting them have taken the opportunity to snatch them up. I wish there had been kids' sizes available.
I did a short interview-thing for the museum's project (anyone who had commentary about Floppy got to offer it at the film festival), but I don't think I said half what I meant to. Somehow, I'm not great at expressing myself through oral communication.
What I meant to say, more or less, was: Duane Ellett was human. He had human faults, like any of us. But he made a difference in ways that may not be obvious, initially. So many people can describe minute details of their experiences at The Floppy Show as kids. That means something. Being on the show was a memorable event for so many kids!
Duane encouraged numerous people in their careers or studies in the performing arts. Whether he was helping a high school student with a video project or encouraging a comedian, he offered support to other people.
Duane also read "The Night before Christmas" to kids at the hospital, and I think he donated money too. So he gave quite a bit of himself to benefit the community.
Many people see The Floppy Show as part of the big picture of children's TV during the show's time period. So many Floppy fans have sent me emails lamenting (sometimes at length) the loss of quality children's programming. I can assure you, though, that quality children's programming is not dead--nor is locally based children's programming. Just yesterday, my family went to a Choo Choo Bob Show party. The Choo Choo Bob Show is a kids' show mainly centered around trains; it is native to the Twin Cities. My son loves the show, and so do we. It was fun to see episodes on the big screen and to see all the stars (including Charlie Rat and his puppeteer!). Such shows may not be broadcast everywhere, but you can find Choo Choo Bob on Amazon.com!
So if kids' TV is important to you, know that there is hope. ; )
Get your DVDs and shirts from IPTV while you can! 'Cause piracy is not cool when legit versions are available.

Update, 8/21/08:
I've been informed by a pretty reliable source that the Floppy shirts at honestdude.com, the T-shirt shop by ZZZ Records in Des Moines, and the Historical Museum are bootleg/illegit. I was startled and disappointed at this news. We bought some of those shirts and were so excited about them!
The guys selling the shirts were pretty nice to me, and I know everyone wants shirts, but I can't really recommend buying them, given the circumstances. After all, the Elletts will probably be less open to future projects if they feel like people aren't respecting their rights.

Update, 8/12/08:
Yesterday the Floppy and Duane memorial was dedicated at the Iowa State Fair. The memorial is a laser-engraved tile in the sidewalk.
There were lots of great people present at the dedication. I got to meet the woman who started the ball rolling to create some kind of memorial. I also met the guy who is restoring the Floppy bus and selling Floppy T-shirts (see my FAQ for more T-shirt info).
Connie Foster, one of the Floppy Show hostesses, came from Chicago for the event. She was very nice and gave me some things to scan for the site--those will be among my later updates, since I want to use my little scanner for them and have to find it first.
Connie also signed my photo of her, and she brought her own stuffed Floppy!
Also present: the mom of the last of the Floppy hostesses. Her daughter lives in Colorado Springs now and couldn't make it.
I'm sure there were some family members around, but they maintained their anonymity, and I understand that. I had my suspicions, though, about who they were likely to be--and my husband had similar suspicions.
The event got me thinking about the website and my observations. I started my Floppy page on Geocities in 1997 or 1998, so it's a decade old now. It's grown a lot over the years and will grow quite a bit this week, in all probability.
I've heard lots of stories about Floppy and Duane. What is evident to me is that Duane was, on one level, a regular person. He had his failings; he smoked cigars. But on a larger scale, he made a big contribution to his community. He helped people to laugh and relax; he brought happiness and entertainment to sick kids who were stuck in the hospital at Christmas; he was memorable enough that I get more email about my Floppy page than about my ~30 other web pages combined.


Update, 4/2/06:
Thanks to Joe for letting me know that Floppy is now up on Wikipedia.

Update, 12/31/04:
Thanks to everyone who let me know about WHO airing the Floppy Christmas special and to Mike for making it accessible to us all!

Update, 7/30/03:
Julie let me know that desmoinesbroadcasting.com has a link to me. Thanks, desmoinesbroadcasting.com!
Volume 75, Number 2 (Summer 1994) of The Palimpsest features Floppy on the cover and in articles. You may be able to get a copy of it from the Historical Museum gift shop.

Update, 10/1/02:
Iowafalls.org has some really cool Floppy stuff up now.

Update, 3/10/02:
This is about the first chance I've had to put up all my cool new Floppy developments, so I'm going to put them all into one file. In fact, I think I'll put all the emails I've got up there so that this page is neater. Oh--and I found out that there's a link to this page on iowafalls.org--I'd like to thank whoever's responsible for that.

Update, 11/11/01:
Here is a picture of my Floppy birthday cake (baked & decorated by my mom), and here is a picture of my mom & me in the Floppy shirts I made. There's another picture of me in my Floppy shirt on this page.

Update, 9/7/01:
I don't know what's going on with the merchandising issues, but it does seem that there's hope yet.
Meanwhile, my wonderful boyfriend (now husband!) found this shirt in The Brass Armadillo.
Here's an easier-on-the-modem version of the shirt picture.

Update, 8/22/01:
I have heard from someone in the museum shop, and she says that she was told that the Elletts don't want any merchandising done. So it may not be the best idea to send email to the gift shop, if there's nothing anyone can do about providing Floppy products. I am, however, trying to find out exactly what the situation is. . .I'll let you all know if I find out. I'm sure we all want to respect the Elletts' wishes, regardless of what they may be.

Update, 8/21/01:
I heard from Bobby Hacker today. . .turns out he's friends with Duane's granddaughter.
I emailed the Historical Museum gift shop today, and you can too (as evidenced by the link). Did I ever even put my own email address, karen@hart.net, on here? But anyway, I asked the gift shop to offer Floppy merchandise. I think that would be great.
You can visit the Historical Museum online, by the way. It's here.
The DMR ran this article recently.

Update, 6/27/98:
I have a report that the Floppy exhibit is indeed permanent. I'm glad. Now if I can just get Lisa to let me scan her picture...

Feel free to check out my main page and my Muppet page!

Update, 4/5/98:
My mom says Floppy isn't at the Historical Building anymore. I hope she's wrong.