Like most everyone else I've ever met, I grew up watching Sesame Street. The characters, the show's components, the songs were all familiar to me and I loved it. My mother encouraged the love by singing us Sesame Street songs and reading us Sesame Street books (my favorite was a Big Bird book called I Can't Wait Until Christmas.)

And I remember one of the most resounding Sesame Street clips that I've ever seen, called "Kermit and Joey say the Alphabet." To this day, I laugh when I see it. It's so endearing to me, for a few reasons. One, it's just so cute; Joey is so silly and Kermit is so forgiving and accepting. Two, it was a connection between the show that I was familiar with, Sesame Street, and a whole other magical component of Jim Henson's work that I was not as familiar with, the Muppets. 

The third reason is a bit more complicated. I first saw this clip in a CBS special entitled The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson. It aired in November 1990, a few months after Jim Henson passed away. My mother, a big fan of much of Jim Henson's work, recorded it. It found its way into my viewing rotation and it became one of the most memorable videos of my childhood.

The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson was a wonderful collage of Jim Henson's work and it highlighted the best parts of his imagination. It opened my eyes to the wider universe of Jim Henson's film work. It was enthralling, enchanting, and frightening. I remember being absolutely terrified of the Fireys from Labyrinth long before I knew who they were and where they were from. I remember feeling emotions beyond my years when Kermit has a soul-searching conversation with himself in The Muppet Movie. And, of course, I remember rewinding the Sesame Street clip above again and again and again. While I still didn't fully understand the concept of Jim Henson being "gone" (which the special discusses), I was fully aware that Henson's creations would speak volumes to me for the remainder of my life. 

I'm still laughing with Joey and Kermit.

What is your favorite Sesame Street clip?