Forgotten Sleep

how to get to Sesame Street?

Happy 40th Birthday to the grandfather of all educational children’s shows! It’s hard to believe that the same show that helped me learn how to count and remember my letters, that taught me that everyone is the same no matter what we look like and that learning is fun is still going strong.

I remember how excited I would get when I saw Big Bird and Rowlf (I’m guessing I’m remember that big muppet dog’s name correctly) come bounding over the hill in that 70s-esque intro. I remember loving Snuffleupagus and laughing at Bert and Ernie. But the Count was always my favorite. Maybe that affinity grew out of being chosen as one of the lucky children to ride in his car during the Sesame Street on Ice show I attended as a little kid. Or maybe I just thought his accent was cool. Whatever the reason, I learned my numbers fast.

What blows my mind even more, though, is that now when I watch the show with my own kids, I’m seeing familiar faces. The same people who played the human characters when I was small have stayed in their jobs, feeling compelled to continue teaching children the fundamentals of life. I dig that. Kudos to them for staying with the show and maintaining continuity.

I also find it heartening and reassuring that the show has embraced social changes as our society has grown more open over the past decades. I think as people my age grew older (say high school and beyond) we always sort of wondered whether Bert and Ernie were gay. They’re not, but just the fact that we were considering it seemed to make the idea okay. The South African version of the show now boasts an HIV-positive character. The ethnic and racial diversity in the show and its muppets has blossomed. No wonder the show remains a main-stay of children’s programming, and parents continue to support it and encourage their children to watch.

As I watch Big Girl dancing to Elmo’s World and laughing at Oscar the Grouch, I vividly remember getting equally excited about certain parts of the show. Grover always made me giggle. I have this brilliant memory of once trying to crawl behind the television in the media cabinet in my parents’ den just so I could talk to Big Bird — it made so much sense to my little mind that if I could see Big Bird through the television, then he clearly must just be standing behind it!

So, happy birthday Sesame Street. Thank you for your years of laughter and instruction. Thank you for remaining wholesome while striving to be inclusive and push through the boundaries of prejudice. May you have many more decades of brightening lives and enriching minds ahead of you.

And, rock on to the man who’s played Big Bird for 40 straight years.