Sunny Days Sweepin' the Clouds Away...apparently Not

Has anyone else heard about the new DVD release of the original "Sesame Street" shows? Apparently those of us who watched the show back when we were wee ones in 1969 when it started, were horribly scarred for life by such things as Cookie Monster's lack of dietary balance, Oscar's grouchiness, and Big Bird delusional friend Mr. Snuffaluppagus. I had no idea that if I showed these episodes to my children they would end up in therapy or something!

You see, the new DVDs come with a warning that they are adults ONLY: "These early 'Sesame Street' episodes are intended for grown-ups, and may not suit the needs of today's preschool chid". Are you kidding me?! Clearly today's children don't need to be learning their ABC or 123s and instead should be learning how to get the best crack deal or what to do when mommy gets beat up by her pimp before school. Seriously though, their claim is that Oscar is TOO grumpy (uh, that's why he's called Oscar THE GROUCH, people!) Cookie Monster eats nothing BUT cookies. Uh, again, COOKIE monster. He isn't Cauliflower Monster, or Balanced Diet Monster. Did anyone ever say "Hey, that blue fuzzy guy gets to eat nothing but cookies, I think I'll do the same for my kid!"

Clearly today's child can better relate to Prozac-hopped up Elmo and that wierd new character who thinks she's a fairy or something otherwise inane. I happened to put the show on for a few minutes the other day thinking my 9-month-old son might like the music. In the 14 minutes or so I was able to tolerate the PBS show I did not see a single thing about learning letters or numbers. Just endless amounts of screeching Elmo trying to sing opera, rap & other music that all sounded the same in his 3rd person wail.

We are out of control with attempting to be politically correct these days. Kids need to stop playing video games from the moment they pop out of the womb & they NEED some healthy doses of imagination, good songs, and books...real books with turning pages & everything. And as for children's programming, I may not be "normal" but I'm not a drug addict for having watched "Scooby Doo" or "Lidsville" or even "Bugs Bunny", and those were far more "adult only" than any episode of "Sesame Street".

C is for cookie, that's good enough for me.