Happy Birthday Grover!

I saw about a week ago that Sesame Street was celebrating their 40th Anniversary - WOW! I have such fantastic memories of that show - Grover, Big Bird, Elmo, Oscar the Grouch, Gordon, Maria, and don't forget those late-70's/early-80's sound effects and graphics! Those puppets were just magical and I couldn't get enough of the show - it took a lot to ween me off of it!

So hats off to a staple of my (and my generation's) childhood!!

Sesame Street 40th Anniversary: Still sweeping the clouds away

By Ali Skylar

November 10, 2009, 6:31AM

AP PHOTO On Sesame Street's 40th birthday, parents like me have fond memories of the show.Today, Sesame Street turns 40 years old. When I read that in today’s paper I just felt happy. That’s what "Sesame Street ''ALWAYS did for me--made me happy!

I loved and love ALL the characters--even Oscar the Grouch as he represents that grouchy part in all of us that comes up for air sometimes to rant and rave, and with the help of his supportive, cheerful friends, both human and puppet, finds peace.

Sesame Street was the place I wanted to live, the street I yearned to call home.

For me, one of the best and most inspirational aspects of the show was the music. The memorable lyrics and catchy tunes--even 40 years later--are still singable by so many baby boomers. “Sunny day, sweeping the clouds away. ” That's what Sesame Street did for me and for so many of us--it helped me forget my worries.

When I watched the show, I really felt like the characters loved each other and loved me.

Just thinking about Grover the waiter hilariously getting all the orders wrong, or Bert and Ernie being so different yet such good friends, or Cookie Monster devouring a cooke with such relish and flurry, or Animal singing “ma na ma na” and riffing in the wrong places in the song, or Kermit singing about being green and different, or the two-headed monster arguing with each other in a language only they knew, but somehow made me understand, makes me HAPPY--even to this day, 40 years later.

Funny enough, just the other day, my ten year old son, Chaz, was laughingly recalling an incident that happened in our car about four years ago involving Sesame Street. (I always played Sesame Street music in the house and in the car when my kids were growing up. Maybe more so for me than for them: during the stressful times, the music helped me feel good.)

So Chaz and I are driving in the car, singing and listening to my favorite Sesame Street collection, and a car pulls up beside us blasting--with all windows open--loud, bombastic, rap music.

The kid looked young and harmless, and I was so infected by the happiness of my Sesame Street songs, I decided to roll down my windows and blast MY music. Singing and rocking out to Elmo, I looked at the kid with a smile. He smiled back and then we drove our separate ways.

That’s magic when people from different walks of life and different age groups can find common ground. And that’s exactly what Sesame Street did for the world. Brought us all together as one through humor, music, and compassionate, diverse characters, allowing us--no matter what age or race or class--to reconnect with the joy and carefreeness and fun and love that defines the true essence of being a child.