Sunny Days

Last night, I had the honor of pretending to be Suzy Q.
It's not that great an honor, usually. But last night, Suzy Q. had an invite to the release party of Sesame Street Old School Volume II. And while what I really wanted to do last night was go home and hide under a blanket, I went. I certainly don't regret it.

The evening began with a reception, where I didn't know anyone, so I kept busy drinking non-alcoholic Big Bird-tinis (yellow) and Oscar-tinis (green). I also watched from afar as Sesame Street legend Bob McGrath chowed down on some chicken skewers. (Later on, I had a chicken skewer. It did not taste good. Insert joke about chicken skewer being made with Big Bird. But I had some mini-crab cakes, and a mini cheeseburger, and perhaps some other mini items that were quite delicious.)

When it came time for Part II of the evening, we all piled into a small theater, where Big Bird himself greeted us and introduced a selection of clips from the DVD set. These are clips from a golden age of Sesame Street: 1974-1979. They're clever and funny and, yes, educational. I can't wait to try to persuade my nieces to watch them with me. (Yes, we got samples!) The audience, made up largely of college students too young to remember a time where Elmo did not exist, laughed as Richard Pryor performed his own unique version of the alphabet, as Kermit the Frog interviewed a jive-talking "Jack be Nimble," and as Grover the Muppet disco danced. We sighed in collective grief when clips featuring the late Mr. Hooper (Will Lee) and Madeline Kahn were shown.

Following the presentation was a panel discussion featuring Bob McGrath (who has played Bob since the show began almost 40 years ago), Roscoe Orman (Gordon), Fran Brill (Prairie Dawn) and the legendary Carole Spinney (Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch). Prairie Dawn and Oscar the Grouch were also a part of the panel. It was amazing to watch these people talk about their jobs with such zeal and nostalgia, even after almost 40 years. It's quite an experience to hear Bob McGrath, in his best Cookie Monster impression, say, "Cookies are a sometimes food."

Afterwards, there was an opportunity for the audience to meet and speak with the panel. I talked with Roscoe and Bob about my love for Christmas Eve on Sesame Street: how despite being Jewish, how I watched it year-round. . . and how much it meant to me when Bob wishes Mr. Hooper a Happy Chanukah. (Roscoe had mentioned during the discussion that making the film was his favorite Sesame Street moment, and I nearly fell out of my seat with glee.) They were both so kind and receptive to my comments. It's as if spending all that time on Sesame Street has turned them into the characters they play.

I also talked to Fran Brill about Actonel. Actonel is an osteoporosis drug, and I recognized her as the spokesperson from a few years ago. I think she was a little taken aback that I recognized her from a 2-year-old commercial, but once she realized I wasn't a Muppet-stalking Actonel freak, we had a nice conversation about the commercial business. And now I get to be blown away by the idea that lil' Prairie Dawn and the lady in the Actonel commercial are the same person.

And then there was Oscar. People were having their pictures taken with the Muppets, but I felt uncomfortable with that. I simply asked Carole Spinney if I could touch Oscar, and he kindly obliged. Oscar told me, "I was a bathmat this afternoon." Oscar the Grouch spoke to me! He spoke to me!

This is better than the time SpongeBob left me a voicemail.
Different story for a different time.