Tonight, I am thinking about Sesame Street and what a great show it was when first created, and probably still is. I wouldn’t know. After raising my own child to be “tuned in,” I no longer watch the show. However, if I came across it on PBS, inadvertently, I might hang around awhile.
I remember one Christmas in Arizona. One of the toys we bought for my son was a Big Bird stuffed animal. While James was not a particularly destructive child, one of the eyes came off, much to my horror, and there seemed no way to replace the eye. I can’t remember the toy’s ultimate fate. Perhaps we brought it back to the store, perhaps not. But, I digress.
In thinking about Oscar the Grouch, I had a light bulb moment this evening, a real enlightenment. This is the situation. You see, I hold very high standards for myself, and unfortunately, I often hold high standards for other people, too. The first part of the last sentence is fine. The second part makes it difficult to function in groups. Oh sure, I can be a great “presenter”/ “teacher,” but it has always been impossible for me to have a long-term relationship with any group of which I am a member. I resent the “herd mentality” that prevails in groups, and the “chain of command,” especially when those in leadership make one wonder how they got there.
Now, I understand why Oscar is a grouch. I can be very much of a grouch when it comes to intolerance of people’s mistakes, failings, and ineptitude. Oscar lives in a trash can. I suppose it is a good place to escape and not be bothered, unless of course, one wants to pop the lid off and espouse an opinion, every now and then!
When mistakes are created, and later when the truth is revealed, it only seems logical that there should be a rush to correct the record. Perhaps this is easier for an individual to do than institutions. All I can tell you is that honesty is not a vice. I have been very honest, all of my life, and am always eager to correct mistakes, even if I have been the one mistaken.
In the interest of “getting along,” I can see now that it is a wiser course of action to withhold the truth about the errors of others. In my quest to present the whole truth, in any instant, my motivations seem to have been severely misinterpreted at times. That said, I really do have zero tolerance for falsehoods, lies, and fabrications. They are all made of wholecloth.
Sesame Street’s theme is centered on the importance of learning the basics, and the need to cooperate with others in society. Mr. Rogers Neighborhood was a contemporary of Sesame Street in the 1970s. I liked its slow pace, its fantasy components, and Mr. Rogers’ gentle way of making kids (and grownups) feel good about life and themselves. “Won’t you be my neighbor?” Yes, those were all good lessons to learn, and lessons that continue to be taught, even though Jim Henson and Fred Rogers have passed on to the playground in the sky.
I’m off to do some more quilting. At least my needle does not argue with me! Perhaps, tomorrow, I’ll try to tune into Sesame Street to see what other lessons may lurk there.
Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications
