Sesame Street and Me...

" A man landed on the moon; a little weekend music festival mushroomed into Woodstock. And a big yellow bird and his fuzzy friends took up residence on a street where the air is always sweet and the sky is always sunny.

The year 1969 was a busy one for big events, and 40 years later, lots of anniversaries are popping up at the intersection of history and pop culture. But when it comes to stirring whirlwinds of memories and before-and-after reflections, the debut of Sesame Street is at the top of the list. " TOM MAURSTAD, Media Critic

I remembered it all so well. I've always been fascinated by those muppets of all colours and sizes, each with their own distinctive personalities. Most of all, I've always enjoyed the show (and don't mind watching the reruns all over again). It's like Barney or Tigger and Friends for the kids that grew up in this part of the century. But Sesame Street has always been my favorite. Back then, when there was no ASTRO or any cable television, I would sit in front of the telly watching an hour of the show on RTM1 and then switch to RTB (Radio Televisyen Brunei) to watch the rerun of the program. My parents said I caught up with most of the songs the muppet sang ( personally I like Ernie's and Kermit's rendition the best) and at the wee age of four, I started counting with Count Von Count. I remembered chuckling to Grover's antics, and Cookie Monster affection towards anything round in shape (like the letter 'O') where he'll eat up the entire thing when he's out of his regular chocolate chip cookies (so I've noticed) and I even wondered how deep was Oscar's bin, where sometimes his voice echoes inside. This is the show when I first heard of the song "Sing" sang by Luis and Maria in the show, which is later in my life, I got to know that the original singer was actually Karen Carpenter from The Carpenters, and this was the very show that taught me to speak and spell in English. I owed so much to this show for what I am now; I can converse English well today because part of my early learning includes Sesame Street on the menu.

After 40 years, the show still stands. Even though Jim Henson deceased some time during the show's pinnacle moment, it never cracks them down. They've vowed to continue Henson's legacy to this day. Honestly, I cannot imagine living in this world without those muppets and Sesame Street. I've always been their loyal fan, and I am still now. This is no ordinary show. It was intelligently crafted by teachers and educational experts, and they even have their own curriculum. It is an intelligent show, produced by intelligent people, manned by fluffy and colourful and yes, intelligent actors and meant to make kids intelligent along the way. Happy Anniversary Sesame Street.