No Longer Ernie

As a child, like most children I watched Sesame Street every weekday.  I am probably stating my age, but this was before the time of Elmo and my favorite character was Ernie.  To me he was funny, loose and adventure seeking; in short, everything I thought I was and wanted to be.  I guess like a lot of other things from my childhood, I had forgotten all about my Sesame Street hero; that is until I started watching the program again, but this time with my son.  I began to once again look forward to the Bert and Ernie sketches and was shocked when I realized that although I still loved Ernie, I was able to associate more with Bert.  One sketch in particular stood out as Ernie was begging Bert to go outside and play ball, but all Bert wanted was quiet time alone so that he could read his book.  In another sketch Ernie can’t sleep so he starts singing a song, keeping Bert up in his adventure until he is tired enough to fall asleep. 

I was honestly upset about this change in character for weeks as I watched the show; that is until I realized what the change in character was.  I think there is a reason Bert and Ernie are always together and that’s because left alone they would be self destructive.  Ernie is spontaneous and often times careless while Bert is overly cautious but responsible.  As a duo they strengthen each other’s weaknesses.  The longer I thought on this the more I saw Ernie as a representation of childhood and Bert as a representation of adulthood.  Children (ie Ernie) need guidance to help direct their focus while adults (Bert) need a reminder of what is important in life by finding joy in the simple things life has to offer. So my change in character association made me feel betetr as I realized the responsibility and other characteristing I had gained to help me guide my son as he explores life.

Ha ha, I know I am a complete weirdo for analyzing Sesame Street characters, but I thought it was fun J