40 Years of Sunny Days
Image courtesy of Cartoon Pictures
Sunny day – sweepin’ the clouds away,
On my way to where the air is sweet.
Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street.
Come and play, everything’s A-OK
Friendly neighbors there that’s where we meet
Can you tell me how to get
How to get to Sesame Street
When I was little, Mom didn’t (and still doesn’t, really) approve of TV. The stereotypical tactic of shutting up the kids by plopping them in front of the idiot box was never a tool in her arsenal. Unless Sesame Street was on. Muppets and math trumped any anti-TV impulses in her brain. Any time we heard the first strains of the opening theme, my brother and I immediately sprinted to the TV, plopping ourselves on the floor, ready for 30 minutes of bright colours and songs. We had no idea that our beloved characters Grover (Mom’s favourite), Elmo (Sam’s favourite), and Snuffleupagus (my favourite) would become important pegs in our upbringing.
Today, Sesame Street aired the first episode of their 40th season. Forty years! For all that time, the show’s been unwaveringly dedicated to promoting friendship, literacy and math skills, cultural diversity, healthy self-esteem, and open communication. While a few things have changed - Cookie Monster now likes fruits and veggies (cookies are a “sometimes food”) and Oscar’s into recycling – the basic positive values have stayed the same, making each episode a fantastic life lesson for everyone.
And thanks to the magic of Youtube, we can relive those wonderful moments:
Here’s to 40 more years of educational songs, committment to diversity, sunny days, and furry monsters. Just as it’s enriched millions of children and their parents over the years, I can only hope and pray (and donate money to public television) that it’ll be around for my children to fall in love with, too.
Bonus Video!
This was circulating around the web a while back and I nearly peed myself watching it. It’s the Count singing about how much he looooooves to count, but every time he says the word, they bleep it out. If you’re having a crap day, watch this. You’ll thank me later.
Edited: November 10th, 2009