The Motivation Behind Snuffleupagus?

Do you remember Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street?
Big and bulky.
Always a little bit sad and melancholy, as I recall.
But something about him made me like that big ol' wooly mammoth-ish creature.
And yesterday, something made me think about Snuffleupagus for the first time in a looooong time.
That is, I was outside spreading mulch.
Nah, that sounds too easy.
The truth is we ordered a few yards of mulch and it was delivered to our driveway. In one great big heap. And the non-ease with which we hence had to maneuver around the driveway motivated me to get started on spreading mulch.
So I got busy shoveling the (wet and heavy) mulch into the wheelbarrow, wheeling the (heavy) wheelbarrow to its destination, and dumping and spreading the (wet and heavy) bright-bark-goodness around my landscaping. (After, that is, I bent over and dug up weeds which were in the vacinity where I would be spreading the wet and heavy mulch.)
To say my back was aching would be an understatement.
To say I was feeling a little bit sad and melancholy as I looked at the big heap of mulch waiting to be shoveled and relocated would be quite accurate.
Perhaps the gloomy feelings I was having as I stared at the big and bulky heap of shredded red stuff is what caused me to see Snuffleupagus in it.
What do you think?
Can you see the resemblance?

Anyway, as I trudged through the chore of shoveling mulch into my wheelbarrow - tired of the work, feeling sorry for myself that I had to do it, yet intrigued by how much that big ol' pile looked like Snuffy - I decided this: Whoever came up with the idea of Snuffleupagus - his character, his look, and his outlook - must have been shoveling mulch when the idea came.

Now, if I can just get over seeing a smooshed Snuffleupagus every time I look around my yard. *wink*