Streets of Grouchy Birds

As the 90s rolled along, I never was into PBS. When I did watch it, it wasn't for Sesame Street. It was mainly stuff like Wishbone, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and whatever they had at the time like the Carmen Sandiego game show. But I do understand how important Sesame was. I would argue that Mister Rogers was a lot more influential, but they both have their place in history.

But as time went on, there was a constant. Knowing that the late Caroll Spinney would continue to be the man behind both Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. He was for the show from its inception in 1969 and stayed there until last year. Unfortunately, as the stories unfold, he suffered from dystonia, which took him not too long ago. I'm not the age of where late boomers and early Gen X people are, but I do think the show was part of their earliest memories. And I'm sure the same applies to Gen Y and the new generations of kids.

This guy was responsible for fleshing out Big Bird into someone kids could relate to. Heck, Spinney paid tribute as the 8-foot character at Jim Henson's memorial when Henson passed away in 1990. I never knew that until reading these articles. It tells how close knitted he was with the show and what it meant to be a cast member for some of these people that are no longer around. And as more of the original people around keep passing, it's easy to forget the legacies they forged just to make entertainment for kids and maybe learn a thing or two.

I do think Sesame Street still has its place in television. And the shift in programming for PBS has changed a bit over the last couple of years. It's even on HBO, which it has since 2015. With people ditching television and cutting the cord, regardless of this program, it does have am impact. While other kids networks may have their idea of fun, there still needs to be that balance in fun and education without it feeling like a school lesson. Without talent like Spinney, you don't something like Sesame air for that long. And hopefully, it still sticks around for a longer time.