Forty years ago today, Sesame Street first aired. So to honor my old friends Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Bert, Ernie, Grover, Cookie Monster, Snuffleupagus, The Count, Gordon, Maria, and the rest of the gang, here’s a story the Today show aired to commemorate the milestone that is Sesame Street turning the big 4-0.
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I grew up watching Sesame Street. Oddly enough (or maybe not so oddly), of all the things I still vividly remember from it, the death of Mr. Hooper has stayed with me all these years. I think it was the first time I really understood what death meant, the finality of it. And all because poor Big Bird couldn’t grasp that Mr. Hooper was never coming back, never going to make his bird seed milkshakes again. I cried all over again watching this — it still has the power to affect me like that, to remind me what it was like to be that little girl crying for her friend Big Bird, who wanted nothing more than to see his friend Mr. Hooper again.
While I, no doubt like countless others who grew up watching it back in the day, still miss Mr. Hooper, I can only smile when I think of everything else I enjoyed about Sesame Street: the songs, the silliness, the friendships, and, most importantly, learning without feeling like I was being taught. Even now, I still watch it some mornings as I’m gearing up for the work day ahead. Because if there’s one thing the show taught me, it’s that you are never, ever too old to enjoy Sesame Street. Here’s to 40 more years.
