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Disclaimer: This was based on a dream I had in July. I practically did live on Sesame Street as a lad but in real life, I never lived in New York City.
My Lunch With Maria
It’s funny how adulthood can make you forget about some of the best friends you ever had as a child, even as unforgettable as some of them were in retrospect. I recently came across an old friend of mine from my childhood neighborhood who really took me back, and I’m immensely grateful to her for it.
I was in some restaurant in downtown Philadelphia, where I’ve lived in the suburbs of since I was ten and moved out of New York City. It was one of those outdoor café type places which I can’t recall the name of. I was about to be seated by the waiter when I saw an oddly-familiar, warm-looking middle-aged Latino woman sitting by herself drinking a glass of ice water. It took me a minute but it came back to me.
“Excuse me, ma’am?u201D I stated to her, stopping the waiter dead in his tracks. “Uh, is your name Maria Rodriguez?u201D She looked up at me, smiling.
“Yes, it is.” She replied, pleasantly. “And you used to be Maria Figueroa before you married Luis, right?u201D I pressed.
“That’s right.” She replied, seeming intrigued that I seemed to know her.
“Do you remember me?u201D I inquired. “I’m Christopher Casino. I used to live on Sesame Street.”
I had lived on the same multicultural and multi-species street as Mrs. Rodriguez here from the time I was newborn till I was ten and moved to Philly. My Mom and my grandparents and I used to live in Maria’s friends Gordon and Susan Robinson’s apartment building, but since I moved away when I was ten and there are a lot, and I do mean a lot, of people and creatures on Sesame Street, I would not have been surprised if Maria had blocked me completely from her mind. And judging by the look on her face, this woman had no idea who I was.
“Picture this same face at five years old getting a sugar rush having dessert with Cookie Monster at Mr. Hooper’s store and David freaking out about how he would tell my mom how sick I was.” I hinted. “Remember? My Mom’s name was Pam and she always used to help you and Luis cook when you had guests? I think she used to help your parents cook when I was really little too.”
Suddenly, Maria stood up and gave me a big hug.
“Christopher!u201D she beamed. “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you.”
“Well, I’m largely forgettable on that street.” I lamented.
“Hey, c’mon, Chris,u201D she protested. “We were all nuts about you. And your mom too. How is Pam, by the way?u201D
I bowed my head down.
“She died,u201D I said. “In 1996, my grandfather too.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Maria yelped. “She was a really nice person. Fit our street like a glove. But we remember you. In fact, Gordon was saying last week he wondered whatever became of you.”
“Well, I just mean I wasn’t on the show much,u201D I explained. “Maybe one or two sketches with Bert and Ernie. But I could have been because I was very close with Big Bird and Grover. And I learned a lot from Gordon and Bob. Plus, they didn’t put me in Follow That Bird, either. I went with you guys, remember? My three cousins Kellie, Kristie and Jennifer and my Mom and I piled into a fourth car with Bert and Ernie to find Big Bird.”
“Yeah,u201D Maria said. “I remember. I also remember you were the one who suspected Big Bird wasn’t happy with the Dodos.”
“Right.” I yelped. That was only half-true. What actually happened was, the infamous big yellow bird of Sesame Street and I were very good friends and when he left the street to go live in Oceanview, Illinois with the Dodo bird family, I missed him so much I kind of panicked that I’d never see him again so I started a campaign for us all to go see him. My Mom piled my visiting cousins and Bert and Ernie in the car to go find him, mostly to shut me up, but I guess the filmmakers thought that wasn’t interesting enough so they left it out. It was all good, though, because until we had the big premiere of the movie at our local theater which we all attended, I barely knew what a movie was. That very same day, Kermit the Frog was on the news reading the note from Big Bird saying he was hitchhiking home. So in a way, my prayers were inadvertently answered. But don’t get me wrong, my mother loved Big Bird and was worried about him too, she just couldn’t stand my panicking all the time.
“Remember that speech Pam gave to Miss Finch after I gave mine?u201D Maria asked. “About how Big Bird and you were best buddies and how the street didn’t feel right without him?u201D
“Yeah,u201D I replied. “And my mom was always good at confrontations. I’m not so I’m glad it wasn’t me. Especially since Miss Finch scared me quite a bit.”
Maria laughed.
“But looking back now,u201D she remarked. “She really wasn’t a bad person.”
“Nah,u201D I agreed. “She did let him come back after all. She just didn’t realize he could be so beloved by a bunch of non-birds.”
“You know, me and a lot of the other kids knew old Snuffleuphagus was real long before you adults did.” I remarked.
“You did?u201D Maria yelped. I nodded. “Did you ever tell Pam?u201D “Yeah,u201D I replied. “She didn’t believe me until she met him with the rest of you. But why do you think I called Big Bird ‘Bird’ all the time? I picked it up from Snuffy.”
“Would you like to join me for lunch, Chris?u201D she inquired.
“Sure,u201D I replied, sitting down. “What are you doing in Philadelphia anyway?u201D
“Luis’s mother lives here and she’s sick. She’s at a hospital here. Gordon and Susan and my daughter and their son are with him.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” I stated. “I’ll pray for her. So how is your daughter? What did you name her again?u201D
“Gabi,u201D she replied. “She’s fine. She and Gordon’s son Miles work at Mr. Hooper’s Store.”
“What happened to David?u201D I inquired.
Maria shrugged. “I don’t know.” She said. “By the time you and your family moved away, Gina was doing most of the work anyway.”
“How’s she?u201D I asked. “I have good memories of her too, she used to babysit me and Grover at Grover’s place when both of our mothers would go out on Friday nights.”
“She’s a vet now,u201D Maria explained. “She has an adopted son, named Marco.”
“That’s awesome,u201D I replied, silently thinking how time flew. “Has Kermit been to the street lately? “ I always clang to good old Kermit the Frog when I lived on the street because I enjoyed his crossover appeal. Once when I had slept over at Bert and Ernie’s one Saturday night and came home the next morning glossy-eyed because Ernie, prankster that he is, kept poor Bert and I up all night. I had loved teasing Bert but my Mom didn’t appreciate the fact that I didn’t get to sleep so she insisted I couldn’t stay with them anymore but rather with one of the adult humans—which was usually Gordon and Susan, as Gordon was my mentor--, or, if it were one of the creatures I wanted to stay with, I could stay with Grover, Herry Monster, the Count—whom I always loved being around as a fan of old Bela Lugosi movies—in Big Bird’s nest or with Kermit. I had stayed with all of those people at times but more often than not, I would choose to stay with Kermit.
Maria shrugged.
“Not since 2001,u201D she said. “I didn’t know him very well anyway.”
“You didn’t?u201D I marveled. “That’s funny, Gordon and Susan used to tell me they were very close with him before he hit it big with The Muppet Show and the movies but once he had them, he’d only be over sporadically. But even then, I used to hang out with him all the time. You remember those lectures he would give on the show that Grover used to interrupt? You know, he’d yell, ‘Hey, froggy baby!u2019 and give Kermit an annoying slap on the back?u201D
“How could I forget those?u201D Maria shot back, laughing. Grover’s one of those guys who doesn’t mean to be a pest, but he can’t help being one anyway despite having the best intentions so you gotta love him.
“Yeah, well, I always loved Kermit’s pal Fozzie Bear on the Muppet Show, still do, and I always bugged Kermit to have Fozzie come visit his place one day. One day, after school, Kermit said Fozzie was coming to visit the street and help him lecture about, I think, how the body worked,u201D I explained. “And if I found Grover and kept him from interrupting his lecture, I could come over afterwards and see Fozzie.”
“So what did you do?u201D Maria asked. I shrugged. “I ran into poor Grover on the street and he was going on and on about how he had to help froggy baby with his lecture, and I got some peanut butter from Hooper’s Store and a rope from Luis’ shop and fed him the peanut butter so he couldn’t open his mouth when I tied him to the hydrant near the store. I felt terrible about it but after Kermit was done, I explained the situation to Grover. He was really mad at me, and I think at Kermit too for picking Fozzie over him, but he got over it.”
“So did you see Fozzie Bear like Kermit promised?u201D Maria asked.
“Yeah,u201D I replied. “He’s a prince of a bear: A real sweetheart. Shame he’s only funny when he’s not trying to be. He’s a bit like Grover in that he can be a pest to Kermit but they both mean well with him and everybody else and are so good-natured, you gotta love them. But I was scared of that pig Kermit goes with at the time so when I came to see Fozzie, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, Kermit, Miss Piggy’s not here too, is she?u2019 And he said no he didn’t want her to know where he lived. Kermit has a MySpace account, maybe I’ll drop him a line.”
After we both ordered our lunch, something occurred to me.
“Maria,u201D I stated. “I’ve heard from little kids today that Elmo is the star of the show.”
“He is,u201D she replied. “What’s wrong with that?u201D
“Nothing,u201D I said. “I like Elmo as much as everybody else on the street, I just don’t see why he should shift attention away from the originals that I grew up with like Big Bird and Bert and Ernie.”
I didn’t know Elmo as well as I knew the others on the street, but I got along very well with him and found him to be very much like Grover in that he was a kind of pest, but a well-meaning and lovable one.
“He’s not shifting attention away from anyone, Chris,u201D Maria explained. “Kermit’s mentor, Jim Henson, is dead and the fellows he worked the closest with don’t have as much time as the fellow Elmo works closest with to devote to the show. Rest assured, Big Bird is still the same lovable bird we drove around the country to bring home and Ernie still keeps Bert up at night despite Elmo being the star.”
“I was never, ever allowed to talk to Oscar the Grouch,u201D I stated. “And it was just as well as he never had anything nice to say anyway.”
“Something else that hasn’t changed.”
I picked up the check for lunch when we finished and I took out a piece of paper and a pen. When I was done scribbling, I handed the paper to Maria.
“That’s my home address, email address, MySpace account page and cell phone number, Maria,u201D I explained. “You can pass it on to Luis, Gordon, Susan and Bob and the creatures too, as I would love to hear from them.”
“Great,u201D she said, getting up and taking the paper. “I’d love for you to meet Gabi. We’re having a fortieth anniversary party next November. Maybe we could send you a plane ticket and you could come visit?u201D
“That would be wonderful.” I stated. “Maybe when I find Kermit’s MySpace, I’ll ask him if he’s interested.”
“Sure,u201D she said. “See you, Christopher. We’ll be in touch.”
“Yeah. Good health to Mrs. Rodriguez.” I said.
“Thanks.” Maria and I hugged goodbye and I went downstairs to the subway to get my train back to the suburbs. Ten minutes after I got home, I searched Google for Kermit the Frog’s official MySpace page and requested him as a friend, sending him a message explaining who I was. Much to my surprise, when he added me a few days later, he replied that he remembered me very well and was sorry about my Mom’s passing. In regards to the anniversary party, he said he was really busy lately but he’d see what he could do to get there and if he could, he’d bring Fozzie and some of their other Muppet Show alumni just for me. This is why I always loved Kermit the Frog.
I spent the next few days watching home movies of my Sesame Street days and receiving emails from people I hadn’t heard from in years like Gordon Robinson, Bob Johnson, Luis, Grover, Gina, Big Bird, Snuffy—which is remarkable considering that big brown dude has no hands--Elmo, even Maria’s daughter Gabi who I’d only met as a newborn. They all were saying they looked forward to seeing me at the anniversary party next year. I’ve been planning it now for two months and I got ten months to go. One person who never understood the appeal of the show asked me why I would go back and spend time with a bunch of kiddie TV stars.
“Because they were my best friends as a little boy,u201D I replied. “It’ll be like a class reunion. And if you can go back and be reminded of an easier, more relaxing time in your life, what harm can that do?u201D
Has truer word ever been spoken?
My Lunch With Maria
It’s funny how adulthood can make you forget about some of the best friends you ever had as a child, even as unforgettable as some of them were in retrospect. I recently came across an old friend of mine from my childhood neighborhood who really took me back, and I’m immensely grateful to her for it.
I was in some restaurant in downtown Philadelphia, where I’ve lived in the suburbs of since I was ten and moved out of New York City. It was one of those outdoor café type places which I can’t recall the name of. I was about to be seated by the waiter when I saw an oddly-familiar, warm-looking middle-aged Latino woman sitting by herself drinking a glass of ice water. It took me a minute but it came back to me.
“Excuse me, ma’am?u201D I stated to her, stopping the waiter dead in his tracks. “Uh, is your name Maria Rodriguez?u201D She looked up at me, smiling.
“Yes, it is.” She replied, pleasantly. “And you used to be Maria Figueroa before you married Luis, right?u201D I pressed.
“That’s right.” She replied, seeming intrigued that I seemed to know her.
“Do you remember me?u201D I inquired. “I’m Christopher Casino. I used to live on Sesame Street.”
I had lived on the same multicultural and multi-species street as Mrs. Rodriguez here from the time I was newborn till I was ten and moved to Philly. My Mom and my grandparents and I used to live in Maria’s friends Gordon and Susan Robinson’s apartment building, but since I moved away when I was ten and there are a lot, and I do mean a lot, of people and creatures on Sesame Street, I would not have been surprised if Maria had blocked me completely from her mind. And judging by the look on her face, this woman had no idea who I was.
“Picture this same face at five years old getting a sugar rush having dessert with Cookie Monster at Mr. Hooper’s store and David freaking out about how he would tell my mom how sick I was.” I hinted. “Remember? My Mom’s name was Pam and she always used to help you and Luis cook when you had guests? I think she used to help your parents cook when I was really little too.”
Suddenly, Maria stood up and gave me a big hug.
“Christopher!u201D she beamed. “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you.”
“Well, I’m largely forgettable on that street.” I lamented.
“Hey, c’mon, Chris,u201D she protested. “We were all nuts about you. And your mom too. How is Pam, by the way?u201D
I bowed my head down.
“She died,u201D I said. “In 1996, my grandfather too.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Maria yelped. “She was a really nice person. Fit our street like a glove. But we remember you. In fact, Gordon was saying last week he wondered whatever became of you.”
“Well, I just mean I wasn’t on the show much,u201D I explained. “Maybe one or two sketches with Bert and Ernie. But I could have been because I was very close with Big Bird and Grover. And I learned a lot from Gordon and Bob. Plus, they didn’t put me in Follow That Bird, either. I went with you guys, remember? My three cousins Kellie, Kristie and Jennifer and my Mom and I piled into a fourth car with Bert and Ernie to find Big Bird.”
“Yeah,u201D Maria said. “I remember. I also remember you were the one who suspected Big Bird wasn’t happy with the Dodos.”
“Right.” I yelped. That was only half-true. What actually happened was, the infamous big yellow bird of Sesame Street and I were very good friends and when he left the street to go live in Oceanview, Illinois with the Dodo bird family, I missed him so much I kind of panicked that I’d never see him again so I started a campaign for us all to go see him. My Mom piled my visiting cousins and Bert and Ernie in the car to go find him, mostly to shut me up, but I guess the filmmakers thought that wasn’t interesting enough so they left it out. It was all good, though, because until we had the big premiere of the movie at our local theater which we all attended, I barely knew what a movie was. That very same day, Kermit the Frog was on the news reading the note from Big Bird saying he was hitchhiking home. So in a way, my prayers were inadvertently answered. But don’t get me wrong, my mother loved Big Bird and was worried about him too, she just couldn’t stand my panicking all the time.
“Remember that speech Pam gave to Miss Finch after I gave mine?u201D Maria asked. “About how Big Bird and you were best buddies and how the street didn’t feel right without him?u201D
“Yeah,u201D I replied. “And my mom was always good at confrontations. I’m not so I’m glad it wasn’t me. Especially since Miss Finch scared me quite a bit.”
Maria laughed.
“But looking back now,u201D she remarked. “She really wasn’t a bad person.”
“Nah,u201D I agreed. “She did let him come back after all. She just didn’t realize he could be so beloved by a bunch of non-birds.”
“You know, me and a lot of the other kids knew old Snuffleuphagus was real long before you adults did.” I remarked.
“You did?u201D Maria yelped. I nodded. “Did you ever tell Pam?u201D “Yeah,u201D I replied. “She didn’t believe me until she met him with the rest of you. But why do you think I called Big Bird ‘Bird’ all the time? I picked it up from Snuffy.”
“Would you like to join me for lunch, Chris?u201D she inquired.
“Sure,u201D I replied, sitting down. “What are you doing in Philadelphia anyway?u201D
“Luis’s mother lives here and she’s sick. She’s at a hospital here. Gordon and Susan and my daughter and their son are with him.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” I stated. “I’ll pray for her. So how is your daughter? What did you name her again?u201D
“Gabi,u201D she replied. “She’s fine. She and Gordon’s son Miles work at Mr. Hooper’s Store.”
“What happened to David?u201D I inquired.
Maria shrugged. “I don’t know.” She said. “By the time you and your family moved away, Gina was doing most of the work anyway.”
“How’s she?u201D I asked. “I have good memories of her too, she used to babysit me and Grover at Grover’s place when both of our mothers would go out on Friday nights.”
“She’s a vet now,u201D Maria explained. “She has an adopted son, named Marco.”
“That’s awesome,u201D I replied, silently thinking how time flew. “Has Kermit been to the street lately? “ I always clang to good old Kermit the Frog when I lived on the street because I enjoyed his crossover appeal. Once when I had slept over at Bert and Ernie’s one Saturday night and came home the next morning glossy-eyed because Ernie, prankster that he is, kept poor Bert and I up all night. I had loved teasing Bert but my Mom didn’t appreciate the fact that I didn’t get to sleep so she insisted I couldn’t stay with them anymore but rather with one of the adult humans—which was usually Gordon and Susan, as Gordon was my mentor--, or, if it were one of the creatures I wanted to stay with, I could stay with Grover, Herry Monster, the Count—whom I always loved being around as a fan of old Bela Lugosi movies—in Big Bird’s nest or with Kermit. I had stayed with all of those people at times but more often than not, I would choose to stay with Kermit.
Maria shrugged.
“Not since 2001,u201D she said. “I didn’t know him very well anyway.”
“You didn’t?u201D I marveled. “That’s funny, Gordon and Susan used to tell me they were very close with him before he hit it big with The Muppet Show and the movies but once he had them, he’d only be over sporadically. But even then, I used to hang out with him all the time. You remember those lectures he would give on the show that Grover used to interrupt? You know, he’d yell, ‘Hey, froggy baby!u2019 and give Kermit an annoying slap on the back?u201D
“How could I forget those?u201D Maria shot back, laughing. Grover’s one of those guys who doesn’t mean to be a pest, but he can’t help being one anyway despite having the best intentions so you gotta love him.
“Yeah, well, I always loved Kermit’s pal Fozzie Bear on the Muppet Show, still do, and I always bugged Kermit to have Fozzie come visit his place one day. One day, after school, Kermit said Fozzie was coming to visit the street and help him lecture about, I think, how the body worked,u201D I explained. “And if I found Grover and kept him from interrupting his lecture, I could come over afterwards and see Fozzie.”
“So what did you do?u201D Maria asked. I shrugged. “I ran into poor Grover on the street and he was going on and on about how he had to help froggy baby with his lecture, and I got some peanut butter from Hooper’s Store and a rope from Luis’ shop and fed him the peanut butter so he couldn’t open his mouth when I tied him to the hydrant near the store. I felt terrible about it but after Kermit was done, I explained the situation to Grover. He was really mad at me, and I think at Kermit too for picking Fozzie over him, but he got over it.”
“So did you see Fozzie Bear like Kermit promised?u201D Maria asked.
“Yeah,u201D I replied. “He’s a prince of a bear: A real sweetheart. Shame he’s only funny when he’s not trying to be. He’s a bit like Grover in that he can be a pest to Kermit but they both mean well with him and everybody else and are so good-natured, you gotta love them. But I was scared of that pig Kermit goes with at the time so when I came to see Fozzie, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, Kermit, Miss Piggy’s not here too, is she?u2019 And he said no he didn’t want her to know where he lived. Kermit has a MySpace account, maybe I’ll drop him a line.”
After we both ordered our lunch, something occurred to me.
“Maria,u201D I stated. “I’ve heard from little kids today that Elmo is the star of the show.”
“He is,u201D she replied. “What’s wrong with that?u201D
“Nothing,u201D I said. “I like Elmo as much as everybody else on the street, I just don’t see why he should shift attention away from the originals that I grew up with like Big Bird and Bert and Ernie.”
I didn’t know Elmo as well as I knew the others on the street, but I got along very well with him and found him to be very much like Grover in that he was a kind of pest, but a well-meaning and lovable one.
“He’s not shifting attention away from anyone, Chris,u201D Maria explained. “Kermit’s mentor, Jim Henson, is dead and the fellows he worked the closest with don’t have as much time as the fellow Elmo works closest with to devote to the show. Rest assured, Big Bird is still the same lovable bird we drove around the country to bring home and Ernie still keeps Bert up at night despite Elmo being the star.”
“I was never, ever allowed to talk to Oscar the Grouch,u201D I stated. “And it was just as well as he never had anything nice to say anyway.”
“Something else that hasn’t changed.”
I picked up the check for lunch when we finished and I took out a piece of paper and a pen. When I was done scribbling, I handed the paper to Maria.
“That’s my home address, email address, MySpace account page and cell phone number, Maria,u201D I explained. “You can pass it on to Luis, Gordon, Susan and Bob and the creatures too, as I would love to hear from them.”
“Great,u201D she said, getting up and taking the paper. “I’d love for you to meet Gabi. We’re having a fortieth anniversary party next November. Maybe we could send you a plane ticket and you could come visit?u201D
“That would be wonderful.” I stated. “Maybe when I find Kermit’s MySpace, I’ll ask him if he’s interested.”
“Sure,u201D she said. “See you, Christopher. We’ll be in touch.”
“Yeah. Good health to Mrs. Rodriguez.” I said.
“Thanks.” Maria and I hugged goodbye and I went downstairs to the subway to get my train back to the suburbs. Ten minutes after I got home, I searched Google for Kermit the Frog’s official MySpace page and requested him as a friend, sending him a message explaining who I was. Much to my surprise, when he added me a few days later, he replied that he remembered me very well and was sorry about my Mom’s passing. In regards to the anniversary party, he said he was really busy lately but he’d see what he could do to get there and if he could, he’d bring Fozzie and some of their other Muppet Show alumni just for me. This is why I always loved Kermit the Frog.
I spent the next few days watching home movies of my Sesame Street days and receiving emails from people I hadn’t heard from in years like Gordon Robinson, Bob Johnson, Luis, Grover, Gina, Big Bird, Snuffy—which is remarkable considering that big brown dude has no hands--Elmo, even Maria’s daughter Gabi who I’d only met as a newborn. They all were saying they looked forward to seeing me at the anniversary party next year. I’ve been planning it now for two months and I got ten months to go. One person who never understood the appeal of the show asked me why I would go back and spend time with a bunch of kiddie TV stars.
“Because they were my best friends as a little boy,u201D I replied. “It’ll be like a class reunion. And if you can go back and be reminded of an easier, more relaxing time in your life, what harm can that do?u201D
Has truer word ever been spoken?
