If you’ve been on Google the past week or two, you’ve probably realized by now that this weekend marked the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street. I think this is thrilling. Sesame Street was integral to my childhood. As I often tell Primo, when I was a kid, we didn’t have a zillion channels and on-demand and Netflix’s Watch Now and all this shit. We had Mister Roger’s Neighborhood – and Sesame Street. Primo thinks this is INSANE and feels sorry for me.
“Did they have The Backyardigans when you were a kid?”
“Nope.”
“What about The Magic School Bus?”
“No.”
“Did you even have NOGGIN?”
“There was no Noggin. No Disney Kids. Or Nickoloden or HBO.”
He shakes his head like he is only now understanding the level of deprivation and horror from whence I have risen.
But, I raise his spirits by telling him we had channel 13, PBS, and on it was Sesame Street, and oh how I loved Sesame Street! Of course then we go through the same Q and A with Sesame Street (“Did you have Elmo? Abby Cadabby? Zoe? Rosita? Well, who DID you have?”)
Because of my years “on the Street” I cannot hear “Sing a Song” without myself breaking into song and I cannot see a rubber ducky without feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. And don’t even get me started on “1-2-3-4-5, 6-7-8-9-10, 11- tweeeeelve!” (that is, I believe the official title of the inimitable jazzified Sesame Street counting song). Was the soundtrack for my early years.
To honor the anniversary, we’ll be heading to the Brooklyn Public Library where a new exhibit opened on Saturday, with puppets, old art, and other memorabilia as well as limited-edition Elmo library cards. And I am also declaring this Sesame Street Day on A Mom Amok.
To wit: here’s a link to the Top 10 Sesame Street Controversies (how cool would it have been for Oscar to have lived in a manhole? Love it!)
Here is a link to the Top 40 Musical Performances of the Show's History (Ray Charles! Stevie Wonder! Johnny Cash!)
What are your favorite Sesame Street weird-ass skits? Most beloved moments or characters? How do you feel about the new generation of puppets? Personally, I don’t see why we need girly-girl puppets: as a kid, I totally identified with lovable furry old Grover and Oscar the Grouch and Cookie Monster, none of whom have a discernable gender whatsoever. But I’m also not a purist, so Sec has an Abby Caddaby plush toy, I mean, for God’s sake, she teaches kids ho wto RHYME – how could you hate her?
Input, readers?
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