Sesame Street Turns 40

You know them as icons of your youth. Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch and the bunch. Yes, this year, Sesame Street the long running children's program on Public Broadcasting turns 40 years old.

I found out about the anniversary when watching the Capital 4th of July celebration where the Sesame Street gang sang along with Natasha Bedingfield on stage. It's impressive to think that the show was running when I was a kid and it remained on TV on Saturday mornings when my sisters grew up as well. The show was simple. Spelling and arithmetic in the song form. I even experienced diversity by learning simple Spanish phrases from the colorful characters.

The most memorable skit I can remember was Grover's "Near and Far" episode where Grover runs back and forth, dictating his position relative to the screen. There wasn't much to it, but I remember laughing at Grover's frustration and eventual on screen collapse. It was very humorous ... well at least as a child.