Everything I expected of a city I learned from Sesame Street

Sage and I both really love Toronto. I can’t speak for her, but I definitely feel more at home in this city than I have in any other place I’ve lived including the town in Vermont that I grew up in and spent over 15 years of my life in. I’ve often wondered why and usually dismissed my own questions with “Of course you love it, it’s a great place to live!” but really, I’ve met more than enough folks who can’t stand this city so I’m guessing there are a few things at play. The first, I know, is selective viewing. Partly because of where I live, how I travel, and where I travel in the city, I see a different city than any other person – we all do, really. Riding a bike or taking transit downtown gives one a *very* different view of a city than driving in from Scarborough (or trying to bike, say, on Ellesmere or Kennedy). And of course I tend to notice things that support my positive impressions and gloss over those things that don’t. But an even deeper reason may have come from the fact that as a kid I spent many hours of my life watching early 1970′s Sesame Street. I notice, for example that many of the things I love about Toronto are the same things portrayed positively in Sesame Street. A few examples:

Transit
Toronto loves its transit:

And of course Sesame Street did as well:

Diversity
Toronto’s one of the most diverse cities in the world. Sesame Street always promoted multiculturalism:

Cycling
Cycling is very popular in Toronto:

Sesame Street also promoted cycling:

Street Life
And finally, Sesame Street knew that streets are not just for cars, but for people too:

Toronto knows that as well:

No wonder I feel at home. Kind of funny, really, to think that in a strange way Jim Henson and the producers of shows like Sesame Street, The Electric Company, and Vegetable Soup (am I the only one who remembers that one?) had a noticeable effect on where and how I want to spend my life.