Happy Anniversary Sesame Street!

Today’s Google “doodle” featured Cookie Monster. It was such a cute picture that I couldn’t help but wonder how it got there. So I made a search for Sesame Street news to find out what was up. This year marks the 40th anniversary of children’s TV show Sesame Street. I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t used Google today.

Some of the memorable Sesame Street characters were Elmo, Zoey, Big Bird, Mr. Snuffleupagus the wolly mammoth, Oscar the grouch, Kermit the frog, Betty Lou, Gladys the Cow, Grover, Guy Smiley, Slimey the Worm, The Two-Headed Monster and the Yip Yips from Planet Mars.

As a child, I well remember watching Sesame Street. I loved Count von Count the most even though I hated mathematics. The Count is a muppet version of Dracula with an exaggerated European accent. He has a love for counting and craves counting with fiery passion. He will count anything and everything, regardless of size, amount or how much annoyance he is causing to everyone. He is often accompanied by creepy organ music and laughs maniacally after a counting session, followed by a crash of thunder and lightning. Even as a little boy, I thought Count von Count sounded sexy in his Transylvanian accent. He keeps counting and counting over and over again, like he had OCD (obssessive compulsive disorder). As he often said "I love to count! 1,2,3,4,..." (I think he can only count up to 20)

Cookie Monster used to become so overwhelmed by his desire for cookies that he'd start seeing (hallucinating about?) cookies that weren't actually there. He'd eat telephones, typewriters, pencils, almost anything. It was funny. We all know that cookies are not very healthy food. When I become a doctor in the future, I hope I can advice Cookie Monster to have a more balanced diet. Recently, I heard that he has adopted the philosophy that cookies are a "sometimes food” and changed his diet following reports that childhood obesity had reached epidemic proportions.

I heart Ernie for his fondness for baths. I love taking baths. I also love Ernie's 'Rubber Duckie' song. Sometime ago, there was this controversy that Ernie and Bert are rumored to be homosexual, despite the fact that this has been denied by the producers. I never really like Bert.

Then there’s cute red Elmo. Elmo's the toddler in Sesame Street and has a tendency to speak in third person. I wanted to get a “Tickle me Elmo” when I was young but mom said it was too expensive. I wonder if I can still get it for my birthday.

Tickle me!

Then there’s Grover! The cute, furry little blue monster. His character is multi-talented, taking on many different roles and professions in Sesame Street.

I love it when Grover changes into his alter-identity "Super Grover". This is a parody of Superman, where this monster superhero goes out to fix things, but doesn't always prove helpful. He wears a medieval knight's helmet and, tied around his neck, a cape emblazoned with the letter G. I always wanted to be like Super Grover. I would wear the red piano cloth cover as my cape and run all over the house like a crazy little hamster drugged out on Prozac.

Narrator: He zooms through the sky smarter than a speeding bullet, furrier than a power locomotive, able to leap tall sandwiches in a single bound.
Kid #1: Look, up in the sky. It's an egg plant!
Kid #2: It's a meatball!
Grover: It is I! Super Grover!


Another reason I love Sesame Street is for the unflinchingly genuine attitudes of its residents. For 40 years, they have taught us that sometimes we are going to get hurt, cry and be lonely. (Grover sang a sad song called “What do I do when I am alone”). They've taught us that there'll also be times when we're downright jovial. All the while, those characters have remained sincere. The show has tackled topics like adoption, death, the economy, AIDS, 9/11, and many more.

To me, Sesame Street will always be the happiest street in the world.

C is for Cookie!
Little Dove