Simple.

Let me start out by saying that I love Sesame Street. I didn't make that past tense because my love is still there. Sure, I don't really watch it anymore. But I appreciate it for seriously shaping me as a kid and an adult. I would not be the man I am today without this show. And I'm being 100% serious.

Sesame Street, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and Reading Rainbow were a part of my daily routine for years and I think all three shows taught me a lot about what it means to live honestly. Again, I'm completely serious.

Take this, for example. (Hat tip to InkTank.)



Grover explaining marriage. It's so simple, yet so true. This show is so subtle but complex at the same time.

And don't even get me started on Mister Rogers. Fred Rogers is one of my favorite people of all time.

I watched his final episode back in 2001 and I cried. I am not ashamed to admit that because Mister Rogers is a seminal part of American television and childhood in general, and I felt that the end of his show was heartbreaking. And his death in 2003 was terrible, as well.

Just watch this.



Seriously. How can you watch that and not smile and cry at the same time? "It's such a good feeling to know that we're lifelong friends." It's true, Fred Rogers. Very, very true.