Sesame Street Retrospective, or, I am old.

[jan_andrea]

We ("we" being Sophia, Stephen, and me -- David gets up way earlier to go to work) have been getting up at around 9 am pretty consistently lately, and that means we can catch Sesame Street while we have breakfast.

Well, they started running Sesame Street in 1969, so this year is its 35th anniversary. I started watching when I was one or two, I guess (indigobeej can clarify) -- that was 1975 or 1976. All of the episodes brunahildm and ounceofreason and I watched were pre-Elmo -- pre a lot of things, actually. So they had Elmo asking the other Sesame Street characters about its history. They showed a lot of the clips that I remember -- like the typewriter on wheels that goes "Nu nee nu nee nu..." and types stuff, the turtles that order fruit and vegetables over the telephone, and the trippy counting video with the marble that rolls through strange territory. Super Grover takes Elmo back in time (via a magical taxicab) and they visit Hooper's store (with Hooper, whom Elmo never met), see Snuffleupagus being outed, and witness the birth and adoption of two Sesame Street kids.

Needless to say, being a great big sap, I was all sniffly and tearing up by the time 9:50 rolled around, and got moreso explaining to Stephen that I had watched Sesame Street when I was his age, and started thinking about how much things change and how much they stay the same. Here I am at 30, still able to remember watching Sesame Street, sitting with *my own son* watching it with him. That's so weird. I'm the mommy!

Of course, I was into full-on crying when they ran the credits with a short clip from each year the show had been on. When they got to Mr. Hooper dying, well, that was the final straw. And there was a big jump between when I stopped watching -- 1983, I guess, once Eryk was too old for it -- and when I started watching again, but they had a clip from 2001, too, where Big Bird's nest is destroyed and Gordon is trying to tell him everything will be all right -- they'd done that for 9/11, I gather. Poor Big Bird.

It really is an awesome show. (Even if they don't show breastfeeding with their new babies.)

Comments

[tahoebean.livejournal.com]

I got all sappy watching that episode, too! :) I grew up on Canadian (English/French) Sesame Street, and learned basic french from it :)

Did you ever get a reply to your letter about breastfeeding?

[bafleyanne.livejournal.com]

I was wondering that, too.

[jan-andrea.livejournal.com]

No, not even a form letter :(

[brunahildm.livejournal.com]

Awww, that would have gotten me, too. I have a bad VHS copy of the Jim Henson hour where the muppets find out that Jim Henson died, and by the time they start the big song at the end I'm always in tears.

[jan-andrea.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen that one, but I can imagine the sadness :(

[jpallan.livejournal.com]

OH MY GOD YOU'RE HERE.

I've missed you, wasn't sure how to contact you.
eeee. :)

[jan-andrea.livejournal.com]

I missed you too, and was thrilled when I saw you as a friend-of-a-friend! Hurray!

In addition to Sophia, I now do mehndi and have my nose pierced :) What's new in your life?

[jpallan.livejournal.com]

Wow, this has been sitting in my Gmail inbox for about two weeks.

Hmmm.

There's a lot. :) Divorced from Jason, living with a cute geeky boy I found on LiveJournal who's really great with the kids. Julianne's nearly 4 now, Alicia's 7. I maintain a journal for them at xxemogrrlxx. I'm recently leaving a year long bout of problems with illness and disability and looking at finishing my degree. Working with the Y rape crisis and with CASA. Tired a lot. Lots of piercings, still just one tattoo. :)

Basically, life is the same as it's always been. You? :)