Sunday, October 20, 2019

Snuffy

This time in Strangerville, we’re sweeping the clouds away.
Segment
Snuffy, by Eli McCann (with contributions by Nicole Kragt, Alanna Coca, Laura Lacko, Catherine Yepsen, and Brice Laris, and many of you)
Production by Eli McCann & Meg Walter


Skylar is very relieved that I'm finally done with this episode on Suffleupagus because I've been constantly humming the Sesame Street song for weeks and it has nearly led to divorce.

This is the most excited I've been in a while to share something from Strangerville with you. I think it's because as I've done some research and talked with many of you about your childhood memories over the past couple of weeks it's put me in a very nostalgic place.


I can remember so vividly staring at the TV in the late 80s to try to figure out whether Big Bird was wearing socks, or did his legs just look like that? I remember asking my mom while she threw some clothes into the washing machine in the basement when "Bert and Ernie" was going to be on. I thought that's what Sesame Street was called when I was four. Who's surprised that I most related to the closet cases?

I remember feeling bad for Oscar the Grouch. I thought he was only in a bad mood because he had to live in a garbage can and I wondered why no one would let him come live in their house.

I remember being stressed out by the fact that the cookies the Cookie Monster ate all just broke up and fell out of his mouth. I worried about who was going to have to clean up that mess and about how food was being wasted even though there were people going hungry in the world.

I remember wondering if Sesame Street was close to Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.

As I interacted with you on social media, I learned that so many people have incredibly fun and vivid memories of Sesame Street from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. I would love to hear more!

Please take a listen to this week's Strangerville, and share a memory with the Strangerverse about your experience with the show.


~It Just Gets Stranger

16 comments:

  1. I was TERRIFIED of the alien muppets. Like, literally had to sleep in my parents' bed with them for two weeks when I first saw them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yip yip yip yip yip yip yip uh huh, uh huh. Te-le-phone...yip yip yip yip yip...

      Delete
    2. Something something prodigal son.

      Delete
    3. I used to quote that line from the aliens in high school/college ALL THE TIME and people would have zero clue why they recognized what I was saying. Turns out, Those alien guys are hard to describe to people and many people have repressed them. Hahaha.

      Delete
  2. So I listened to this Saturday morning and attempted not to cringe at the sound of my own voice (didn't work).

    I had NO idea that was WHY they made the change. I literally cried for the state of our society this such a thing even had to be done. I get it - and I support it - but it's still sad.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is the best thing to come out of Strangerville. I literally cried on my commute this morning. Lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I also got so stressed out by all the cookies that fell out of cookie monster's mouth, but mostly because of the waste. I just wanted to stand next to him so I could eat all the pieces he didn't. I loved Harry Monster and Barkley the dog. The bits I remember the most were the pigs singing about having a new way to walk and the orange that rolled around to music and had rubber band lips. Am I remembering that right?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. YES! The singing orange with lips exists!!! I saw that on a recent episode of Sesame Street and it was a trip. I thought I had dreamed it up. But it’s real and just as amazing as i remembered.

      Delete
  5. Incredible episode. I love that we have this community with so many fun and interesting people. The interviews in this episode were fantastic and the story is really amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I loved this episode! I was teary in several parts. Like just before Big Bird goes in the door. Oh man. I was born in the early 80s and so by the time I watched it, Snuffy was a “seen” character. I was completely shocked by this new info and was telling my son all about it this morning since I’d just finished listening when I picked up carpool kids. 14 years! Wow. It was fun to have all those little interviews! Voices with names and all that. Oh, one funny thing is that Big Bird’s voice is similar to my aunt’s. I couldn’t figure out if Big Bird was a boy or a girl for forever. Also, I love so many characters, but I really love Grover. Maybe because of _There’s a Monster At the End of This Book_. Love. And the Yip Yips!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I loved Maria because she spoke like my family. I would sit in front of the TV and wiggle until Maria came on and then I was just enamored with her because she got to hang out with the puppets and they all loved her. It made me feel closer to Big Bird.

    ReplyDelete
  8. My lifelong dream has been to be on sesame street and sing a song with Grover. Those characters were all my very best friends when I was little. So many happy memories. And I still can't count aloud without slipping into the song about the ladybugs at the picnic.

    ReplyDelete