Me and the Big Chicken
I’ve had an interesting offer for tomorrow. The chance to tape a phone 
interview with Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird, commemorating the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street. I doubt I’ll have a problem with Oscar. He and I have such similar personalities I’m sure we’ll find a lot to talk about. With Big Bird I’m not so sure. My cynical self worried about how to approach him. In my fifties with a doctorate in music and 20 years yakking up Sibelius and Shostakovitch on the radio and now I get to interview a seven foot tall chicken. Jeez.
But then….then…I found this clip of Big Bird singing “It ain’t easy bein’ 
green” at Jim Henson’s funeral. I watched and cried and watched again and realize that sweetness and love have big places in this world, so tomorrow I’ll tell Big Bird it would be a privilege to shake his wing.
–Christopher Purdy
Tags: Big Bird, Christopher Purdy, Oscar the Grouch, Sesame Street