The Street I Grew Up On

When I was my son’s age, my three favorite kid shows were: Mister Rogers, Sesame Street, and The Electric Company.

Despite the fact that Mister Rogers died last year, Mister Rogers will live on in the hearts and minds of parents and kids everywhere, not to mention will probably rerun on PBS for an eternity. He is the perrenial “television neighbor” who always has a kind word to say and made you feel good inside. I once wrote that Mister Rogers made me man of the house, or at least he did when I was six.

The Electric Company is kind of a lost memory for me because it was only on TV until I was about 7. I don’t remember a whole lot about the show as a result. I remember the theme. I remember it teaching me how to read. I remember the “Letterman” cartoons. I remember the silent “Spiderman” live-action skits. I remember the silhouette mouths sounding out words. It’s a show I’d love to see some old reruns of.

Sesame Street is a memory I live just about every day, due to the fact that it’s on almost every day and my son watches it. Well except I don’t really live the memories because Sesame Street has evolved quite a bit over the years. Oh sure, Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Oscar, Grover, Cookie Monster, Bob, Maria, Luis, Gordon, and Susan are all still there. The show still tells you that it is brought to you buy a letter and a number at the end. They still teach about diversity (before it was mandated by federal law), have celebrities show up once in a while for cute spots, and parody stuff in a way that entertains both adults and childredn. But when did Elmo, Baby Bear, Zoe, Rosita, Gina, and Alan show up? When did they stop showing the Pinball game? When did they start counting to twenty? Where did the twiddlebugs move to? And why does Elmo’s World take up 15 minutes of the show?

I remember when Kermit the Frog interviewed, well, everyone. I remember when Guy Smiley hosted gameshows. I remember when Snuffleupagus was believed to be “imaginary” by the adults, until that fateful day. I remember the Letterside Chats. I remember Mister Hooper and how Big Bird would always call him “Mister Looper.” I remember “C is for Cookie, “J, joe, jeans, and his jellybeans,” “X marks the spot,” “would you like to buy an O,” Cookie Monster singing about a “soft-boiled cookie,” “Who are the people in your neighborhood,” and countless other songs from my misspent youth that I can now share with my kids. Pity they don’t play those songs on TV anymore. Well, I guess there are always videos…

In any case, Sesame Street’s been around for longer than I have. The Street We Live On is a special that celebrates 35 years of Sesame Street. It’s something I’m looking forward to watching, if only so I can relive a few old memories from my childhood.