I Can Tell You How To Get To Sesame Street

Today I got a golden ticket. I got a chance to re-awaken my childhood fantasies by setting foot on the set of Sesame Street at the Kaufman Astoria Studio in Queens, NY. And I can tell you how to get there.



From Westfield, NJ, take the Raritan Valley Line to Newark Penn Station, then catch the NEC line into New York Penn Station. Then go to the 1, 2, 3, 9 line one stop uptown to Times Square. From there go up the stairs, turn right and go to the NR line to Queens. Get off at Broadway and walk to 36th street where you hang a right and walk two more blocks. There will be a huge gray slab of a building, inside of which are wonders your inner child will all but scream in excitement to see.



This is exactly what I did today, February 23, 2009. I worked for about an hour this morning before we (six of us, 5 animators and 1 td) made the trek into the city and met up there with our executive producer, art director, and assistant. Together there were only maybe 9 of us, about a third of the overall team who would visit Sesame Street over the next couple of days. We dined briefly at the terrific Benjamas Taste of Thai before continuing back in time to when we were children still learning our colors and alphabet.

It started out simply enough. We donned our visitor badges, rode a tiny, crowded elevator up up up into the lofty heights of Jim Hensen's imagination. We were temporarily stored in the breakroom where we were offered beverages and snacks, but most of us were too much in the way of jumping out of our own skins to be next to Gordon eating a peanut butter jelly sandwich, or Snuffy taking a quick trip to the restroom. We were told that we nearly missed Ricky Gervais who was there earlier shooting a segment, but we were passed briefly by mister Brendan Fraser who offered a quiet "hi, folks" as he gently tugged along one of his sons (I believe Griffin) who was there to accompany him for another segment of the show. A little surreal in such a down-to-earth, kid-friendly atmosphere. For a second I pictured it must be a similar feeling for parents with kids who go to school with children of celebrities.

Meanwhile, we got to see a lot of the sets crammed into Studio J. It started off with Big Bird's nest, which we were able to take photos of (with ourselves sitting in it), and all of Big Bird's stuff. We saw Hooper's Store and various other memorable spots, as well as a play area where Elmo and Abby's tricycles sat (those are for the animatronic puppets they use very occasionally, which we unfortunately did not see). We got to see the 123 building with the large cement steps, and there we all piled up for a photo. We were joined by mister Joey Mazzarino (who visited us at Speakeasy FX just weeks ago with his puppet Murray from "The Word On The Street"), holding another puppet, and also Eric Jacobson who was bringing Grover to life in front of our eyes.

All of this we were allowed to capture on camera, with few exceptions. We were not to photograph any of the rehearsal time for the upcoming shows, obviously, and perhaps less obvious, we were not allowed to photograph any unmanned puppets, so as not to destroy the magic of their lives. There were a few lying (or in one case, hanging) around with blindfolds on or blankets over them, as if they were sleeping for a time. There is no stone unturned in the art of Sesame Street puppetry.

Of course we were already giddy as can be to witness all that we had, but better still was a personal visit from miss fairy girl Abby Cadabby, puppeteered by the extremely talented Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, who is infinitely dynamic and overflowing with positive energy and enthusiasm. It is incredible that the entire time Leslie held Abby, she simply *was* Abby the entire time, and we all regarded Abby as just another living being voicing her fiesty fairy commentary of the world around her. It was absolutely fantastic. We talked a lot about things I can not go into detail about here, but it was amazing and completely revitalized our creative spirits.

One thing I simply love about Sesame Street is their committment to teaching love as much as anything else. Love thy neighbor. It must be somewhere in the mission statement, certainly. Everyone at Sesame Street seems to embody that ideal, especially the actors - and as we witnessed with Abby today, there is always enough love to go around. While she was speaking with us, she noticed some children passing by and stopped to chat with them. We got a lot of photos and video of her interacting with the children and simply feeding off of their unbridled creativity. One six year old child by the name of Baboo got into a joke match with Abby that went something like this:

Abby: Knock Knock!
Baboo: Who's There?
Abby: Amos.
Baboo: Amos who?
Abby: A mosquito bit me! Knock Knock!
Baboo: (laughing) who's there?
Abby: Andy.
Baboo: Andy who?
Abby: And he bit me again!
Baboo: What do you call a flower that grows between your nose and your chin?
Abby: Uhm, a boogerbulb!
Baboo: (laughing hysterically) No! Tulips!

Later, Leslie broke out of character just long enough to tell us a story about a young four year old girl who had already had nine heart surgeries. How they met, I'm not sure, but Leslie spoke of picking up the phone and loving to dial children like this to speak to them with Abby's voice bubbling, "How ya doin!?" It was extremely touching and reminded me of Kevin Clash's story about performing once with his childhood friend Cindy, who I believe died of cancer of some sort, only eight or so weeks later. These people have an unfathomable love for what they are doing, but they have an even more fervent desire to express that love, share it, and teach it to all children. It is incredibly inspiring and exactly what I love about this business.



Unfortunately I did not meet Kevin Clash today. He may have been there - he may have even walked past us, but if so I did not know. I wish I had. Just in case, I had brought his book along with me, "My Life as a Furry Red Monster: What Being Elmo Has Taught Me About Life, Love and Laughing Out Loud," which I began reading a couple years ago - far before I even heard of Speakeasy FX, long before I realized Sesame Street was running full speed ahead into their 40th season on television. Sometimes there is an uncanny feeling that my life as it is, with all its hiccups and craziness, is somehow exactly what it should be, as if I'm on a path that is greater than I am able to comprehend at the moment. With the group of us there it would have been hard to convey as sincerely as I would want the thanks I have had for his inspiring tale and for bringing us our beloved Elmo and all the love that goes with him. Maybe some day I'll get to tell him that.

Meanwhile, it is awe-inspiring that I grew up with such a character and loved Sesame Street puppetry, as well as my own dolls, sketching, ceramics, traditional animation, computers, acting, and finally computer animation as I got older and thought about a career. It can be so easy to slip into thinking life is hard with today's economy and just having been married but now having to live separately, and all the things I have been going through in the past year - but taking a step outside of the problems, my life, now as a character animator, seems so simple, so clearly laid out, and ever so fortunate.

A Great Success Story

For my husband.



I believe in us, and I believe in our future together, no matter where it takes us, whether we're working at top studios or at gas stations. I know that no matter what, being together is what matters the most to me, and in whatever we're doing, rooting for each other is always what we do best.

I'm rooting for you.

Love,

Yours Truly

La La Means I Love You

It's a week after my birthday, and I know it's just going to be another couple of weeks before Naveen is coming out here to visit, but it occurs to me that this is the longest we've gone without seeing each other since December of 2006 and early 2007, before I moved to Florida. It took me six months to realize I needed to move from Fort Wayne to Full Sail to be with him there. We've been apart again just over four months, and I wonder how much longer I can take. It's different, now that we're married. Much harder to be apart. It certainly isn't the life we were expecting.

Of course, I don't want to paint such a miserable story. This past week I've been fixated on positive thinking, declaring each day that it's going to be a good day, and not just going through the motions but driving an enthusiastic effort. I can say for sure that it has been helping a lot. My productivity improved slightly from last week, and I simply enjoyed this more - this wonderful thing that I get to do for a living. It is so easy to take it for granted when my heart feels at such a loss, but given some focus, I consider myself fortunate still. Even moments ago, when I was thinking about Naveen - through this past week, I've been fighting thoughts of loneliness with intensely positive mantras - but just now, I let one of those thoughts in, and rather than feeling sadness, I started smiling. I started realizing again how very lucky I am to be with him, about how the happiest feeling I've ever experienced is being loved by him and loving him in return.

Lately, the scariest thought I've had is what I would do without him. Now that we're so far apart, and especially due to some recent events, I am constantly fighting the fear that something could happen to him while I'm away. He drove this weekend four hours to see our families in Fort Wayne and spend time with them, and I had to distract myself from thinking anything bad could happen to him while he was on the road. Especially during these moments, I can't stop thinking about how stupid it is for us to be apart. But he has the strength to remind me how stupid it would be if we gave up on what we've been pushing for our whole lives. We know we have the strength to withstand this burden, even in our first year of marriage, when we should be developing our life together. We are determined people.

Hulu.com is one of those places I go to in the evening to keep me company during dinner, etc. One of the movies they posted over Christmas was "The Family Man" starring Nicholas Cage ("Jack") and Tea Leoni ("Kate"). I remember liking it when it came out, but it has quickly been thrusted into my list of favorite films. I had completely forgotten the storyline since I saw it eight years ago. It is somewhat hard for me to watch, because I can easily identify with Jack, who left the love of his life to boost his career but is allowed a glimpse of what his life might have been if he had given it all up to marry his soulmate instead. Now, unlike Jack, I did marry my soulmate, but then I immediately moved out (for a great job) to Union County New Jersey - a bizarre parallel since this is where Jack and Kate live with their two children, Annie and Jack, and I can't tell you how much my head spins when I consider that.

I know a handful of you might have seen the movie, but here's what I would consider the most romantic three minutes in a movie I've seen in a movie in a very long time:



It is the moment when Jack fully realizes exactly what he gave up to pursue a lucrative career in the fast lane. He watches a tape of him singing a favorite song to Kate, "La La Means I Love You" by the Delfonics. It's Kate's birthday, and the thing that means most to her from him is this song - not a diamond ring, or something expensive - just a song, and seeing in his eyes how much he loves her.

I think when I saw this movie in December of 2000, I probably thought, that was a nice idea for a movie. I didn't know it could be real and I could be living it one day.

Plane Crash In The Hudson

Miracle on the Hudson after plane crash
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news%2Flocal&id=6606410
Thursday, January 15, 2009 | 7:18 PM

Gov't official says 'bird strike' cause of crash
By Scott Curkin; Eyewitness News

NEW YORK (WABC) -- The FAA says all passengers are safe after a US Airways plane crashed into the Hudson River.
Individuals who believe they may have family members on board flight 1549 may call US Airways at 1-800-679-8215 within the United States.
The plane is an Airbus 320, US Airways flight 1549 from LaGuardia to Charlotte. There were 150 passengers on board the flight, along with 5 crew members. The FAA is reporting all passengers made it out of the plane allive. There are minor injuries to the passengers, and one flight attendent suffered a broken leg.
The pilot is identified by his wife as Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III. Sullenberger, 58, described himself in an online professional profile as a 29-year employee of US Airways. He started his own consulting business, Safety Reliability Methods Inc., two years ago.

Bank of America and Wells Fargo said they had employees on the plane. Charlotte is a major banking center.
Air Traffic Control reports the plane, after takeoff reached 3,000 feet before heading towards the river. The plane had reached a speed of 178 mph.
"TSA is monitoring the situation involving US Airways flight 1549. At this point, there is no indication that this is a security-related incident. TSA will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates if appropriate."
The plane went down near 48th Street. The plane took off from LaGuardia at 3:26 p.m.
President Bush released the following statement:

"My Administration is coordinating with State and local officials to respond to this afternoon's plane crash in New York City. We continue to monitor the situation. Laura and I are inspired by the skill and heroism of the flight crew as well as the dedication and selflessness of the emergency responders and volunteers who rescued passengers from the icy waters of the Hudson. We send our thoughts and prayers to all involved in the accident."
Passenger Jeff Kolodjay of Norwalk, Conn., said he heard an explosion two or three minutes into the flight, looked out the left side of the Airbus 320 and saw one of the engines on fire.
"The captain said, 'Brace for impact because we're going down,"' Kolodjay said. He said passengers put their heads in their laps and started saying prayers. He said the plane hit the water pretty hard, but he was fine.
"It was intense. It was intense. You've got to give it to the pilot. He made a hell of a landing," Kolodjay said.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an experienced pilot, said he had spoken with the pilot and a passenger who claimed to be the last one off the plane.
"It would appear that the pilot did a masterful job of landing the plane in the river, and then making sure everybody got out," the mayor said at a news conference.
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Bloomberg said most of the rescued were picked up right away and put on police, Coast Guard and ferry boats. Police divers did have to rescue a few people from underwater, he said.
Gov. David Paterson described the emergency landing as a tragedy averted.
"We had a miracle on 34th Street. I believe now we have had a miracle on the Hudson," he said.
Government officials say the plane's two engines went down after a flock of birds struck the plane. Witnesses say it appeared the plane made a controlled landing. "It was just unbelievable how this plane landed," said one witness.
The Federal Aviation Administration says there were about 65,000 bird strikes to civil aircraft in the United States from 1990 to 2005, or about one for every 10,000 flights.
"They literally just choke out the engine and it quits," said Joe Mazzone, a retired Delta Air Lines pilot. He said air traffic control towers routinely alert pilots if there are birds in the area.
ABC News learned 30 seconds after the pilot was handed off from the tower to the next controllers he reported two bird strikes and he wanted to return to LaGuardia.
"You never prepare for anything like this," said one survivor.
The plane, which was over New Jersey at the time, was ordered to return to LaGuardia. The pilot saw Teterboro airport outside of the plane, but obviously never made it.
According to authorities, the Airbus pilot was in communication with the tower, reported that he was having trouble controlling the plane, then looped around once, giving the passengers time to prepare for the impact, one senior airport police official said. He then went off the radar and put the plane down on the river.
One witness says he saw flames coming from the number one engine
Ferries rescued passengers, some who were seen standing on the wings of the plane.
US Airways CEO Doug Parker confirmed that 150 passengers, three flight attendants and two pilots were on board the jetliner.
Joe Mazzone, a retired Delta Air Lines pilot, said it is not unusual for birds to strike planes. In fact, he said, when planes get ready to take off, if there are birds in the area, the tower will alert the crew.
"They literally just choke out the engine and it quits," Mazzone said.
An emergency room doctor from St. Vincent's told Eyewitness News about the rescued air passengers.
"It's a bad day to have this happen. much like the DC crash in the 1980's this is a bad combination of cold air, cold water and wind." He said.
Because of the crash all ferry service is suspended between their 39th terminal in NYC and their Weehawken terminal, across the river in NJ.
"There is no information at this time to indicate that this is a security-related incident," Homeland Security spokeswoman Laura Keehner said. "We continue to closely monitor the situation which at present is focused on search and rescue."
The plane was submerged in the icy waters up to the windows, and rescue crews had opened the door and were pulling passengers in yellow life vests from the plane.
The plane was quickly submerged about 30 minutes after the crash.
Twenty-seven years ago this week, an Air Florida plane bound for Tampa crashed into the Potomac River after hitting a bridge just after takeoff from Washington National Airport. The crash on Jan. 13, 1982, killed 78 people including four people in their cars on the bridge. Five people on the plane survived.
On Dec. 20, a Continental Airlines plane veered off a runway and slid into a snowy field at the Denver airport, injuring 38 people. That was the first major crash of a commercial airliner in the United States since Aug. 27, 2006, when 49 people were killed after a Comair jetliner mistakenly took off from the wrong runway in Lexington, Ky.

In Memory

We love you Becky. I know poetry has helped you cope with things in the past, so I thought I'd share something I wrote tonight. We love you so much and we're so very sorry. We're all here for you.
Love always, Laura

**

For Brianne


There is a girl not far from here
Her life a work of art
At times she paints with colors bright
And now and then the dark

A daughter, sister, and a wife
Important as all three
But when I think about her life
It's who she is to me

She is the loyal trusted one
In her I could confide
My second wind, my guiding sun
With her I found my pride

Her voice is now inside me here
And though the room spins round
She tells me not to let my fear
Or sadness take me down

She wants me to keep in my mind
No matter if I cry
There's friendship out there I will find
She just wants me to try

She knows there's no replacement
For the bond she sought to give
We long for her embracement
But she longs for us to live


There is a girl not far from here
Though now we are apart
For my best friend I shed a tear
I hold her in my heart.

**