Let’s Hear the Story!

Before we begin, you need to go back and look again at A Cross Tic, my previous entry. Call it homework. I fear most of you missed the acrostic (not just the punny title) in the piece. C’mon, take a second look. I believe in you.

I grew up in the genesis of Sesame Street. I’m talking old, old school of the mid 1960’s. Those early episodes repeated the same clips over and over, the same characters. Even at age 8, I recognized the redundancy.

Long before the Count did his vampiry best to explain numbers, we had singsongy tunes and simple graphics for each number one through ten. Here’s a clip from the WayBack Machine, celebrating five. “Five, five, five, five, let’s hear the story of five!” There’s the count up, the count down, lots of kid’s voices and some strobing lights, followed by simple examples. Five fingers. Five drinks. Basic and memorable, but woefully incomplete.

Here’s my question: What about 42? Huge oversight by the Jim Henson and talented muppeteers. Even later in the show’s history, Count never went up to 42. What gives? I sense some real bias here.

Consider the overwhelming evidence for 42. In the middle of World War II, Hollywood produced cinematic gold. 1942 gave us Bambi (too bad for mom), Holiday Inn, Pride of the Yankees, AND Casablanca which might be the best movie of all time (except, of course, for Vertigo). That’s an amazing lineup, all produced in ’42. But wait, there’s more.

How about folks born in ’42? I give you Harrison Ford. No need to list his extensive credits. There’s also Chris Sarandon, he with the six fingers in Princess Bride. There’s also David Ogden Stiers (M*A*S*H) and Karen Grassle (Little House), as well as Linda Evans and Madeline Kahn (spectacular in Clue). Naturally, these are just partial lists.

Not just actors, but people of all stripes. Barbara Streisand is a ’42 baby, as well as Billy Connolly. I offer up Calvin Klein who changed the fabric of attire forever. In sports, NFL Hall of Famer Dick Butkus, the original Monster of the Midway was born in ’42. I saved the best for last: Paul McCartney. Boom goes the dynamite! One of the driving forces of the greatest band of all time, another ’42 legend. Where would we be without the Beatles lexicon of music? And yet, Sesame Street never mentioned the number, 42. It’s tragic, a massive oversight by PBS.

Just ponder the number for a moment. I don’t usually put math in my blog, but here goes. The second number (2) squared equals the first digit (4). (Find a math person if that sentence doesn’t make sense.) Not only that, but 42 is divisible by 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 14, 21, and 42. You have to admit, those are some impressive stats. If you square 42, you get 1764, which has no real significance, but it would make a pretty sweet PIN because nobody would guess it. Your money is safe with 1764.

I don’t mean to bring you down, but we have to mention those who died too young, leaving this big blue marble at age 42. Like the births, the list of deaths makes you stop and scream, “Wow!”

I gotta lead off with Elvis, the King of Rock and Roll, who died too young in 1977. We’ve got Robert Kennedy, the victim of assassination and philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, both massive influences on society. Toss in Guy de Maupassant, the father of the short story. Those are just the folks at the top of the list.

There are way, way too many athletes to list, those who donned #42. If you’re curious, here’s a pretty good list. That said, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Jackie Robinson the man who helped break the color barrier in MLB but all sports. His courage helped change not just athletics but offered a major culture shift in America and abroad. He’s so important, every April 15th is Jackie Robinson. EVERY player wears, that’s right, #42 to honor Jackie.

Chadwick Boseman did a pretty good job in the big screen version of 42. That’s right, an entire movie devoted to the number 42. You can add Summer of 42, another reference to this incredible number. Is there a movie named 18 or 14 or 5? No. Because those are inferior integers, a fact apparently lost on PBS and the producers of Sesame Street.

If you’re not convinced yet of the superiority of 42 (and how are you NOT convinced at this point), let me offer this final argument, a final arrow in this vast quiver: Happy 42nd anniversary to my dear wife Melanie. On this day back in 1982, we began the journey. 42 years and counting. I told you it was an amazing number.

Thanks for reading!

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