My son's first word was "Elmo." What do you make of that?
For some reason, this character connects like crazy. I do hear from parents that
they are upset because their child's first word isn't "mama" or "dada,"
but "Elmo." Jim [Henson] always believed that if it made him laugh and it was
silly
enough for him, everyone else would laugh, too.
In your book, I found it touching that you could help children have fun and regain
normalcy after upheaval, like when you went to shelters in New Orleans after
Katrina.
Sesame just did an outreach video for the military to help children cope when
parents are deployed. We did another video for critical care, because often doctors
don't really know how to relate to children who are dying. We did another
video for autism. That is what is so great about this show — when there is
a tragedy, parents know that this is a safe haven.
Has there ever been a time when you were performing for a child and felt
like you were going to cry?
Oh, sure. We had a child That is what is so great about this show — parents know that this is a safe haven.visit who they said only had a week to live. Beautiful
child. She came in, her eyes weren't open, she was in a wheel chair, and
her mom and dad were there. When you get the parents coming in, you know that
they have been through so much, but here they are on Sesame Street, this
place
that their child wanted to go to so badly. It's very emotional. It's
a challenge, because I have a healthy child who is now fourteen. So, that day,
I put
Elmo close to the little girl's ear and sang "Sing" and then
I sung "Elmo's World," but I put her name into it. I saw a smile come over her face and I felt happy
because I knew she understood what Elmo was saying to her.
Do parents often write to you or make contact again after an experience like
that?
No, and I think it's because they don't realize that they can. As
performers, we are so overwhelmed with emotion at that point, we don't
say, "You know, you can connect again and let us know if your child [died]
and know that we are there for you." During one shooting, though, a young
lady was visiting the set who used to work with Sesame Workshop. She pulled me
aside during a break and said, "Listen, I want you to know how much of
an impact you have had on me. A friend of mine had a little boy," who was
maybe three or four, "who went out to the park to play, his mommy and daddy
was there and everything and when he got home, he complained of a stomachache
and he passed away that night." She then showed me a photo of this
cute little child with curly brown hair whose favorite thing in the
world was Elmo.
It's just devastating to hear about a child dying like that, but I had
to go back on set right then. So, I told the director and the crew about this
child and I said, "I really want to give something back to the mom and
dad." I took the little photo of that cute child and I put it in Elmo's
hands. When Elmo went back into Elmo's World, he addressed the boy's
parents: "Elmo is going to miss your son, too. We are going to miss him. We
loved him, and we love you, too." And then we all had to take a break,
it was too emotional — whew. But to be able to be connected to people
that way is amazing.
©2007 Jennifer Baumgardner and Nerve Media
About the Author |
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Jennifer Baumgardner is a Brooklyn-based magazine writer and author. She is the co-author of Manifesta and Grassroots, and the author of Look Both Ways: Bisexual Politics.
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