"Have you ever watched Sesame Street?"
"Wow! ‘Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?' " Guyer sang enthusiastically. "I remember it well. I remember watching it, I remember loving the characters and learning letters and numbers. It was great."
This jubilation is brought to you by the number 40 -- as in, 40 years of broadcasting. Sesame Street debuted on Nov. 10, 1969, on PBS.
Guyer, a Democrat from Dalton, recalled Tuesday that his generation was the first one targeted for viewership. Yet Guyer is far from the only Berkshire County VIP with fond memories of Sesame Street, which features Jim Henson's muppets.
Christina Barrett, director of marketing and communications for the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, said she learned of the anniversary after seeing Google change its logo this week in honor of No. 40.
"I think it was one of the only shows my parents actually wanted me to watch," said Barrett, 28. "I mentioned it to one of my co-workers -- I learned to count from one to 10 in Spanish from watching Sesame Street. I still remember the song."
Steve Conroy, director of development for Hillcrest Educational Centers in Pittsfield, is in Guyer's generation.
Conroy tuned in to Big Bird and company at the age of 4.
"I
"Growing up and watching the show -- and having my kids watch the show -- it really was ahead of its time, in terms of the diversity of the show," Conroy said. "It's something you can watch as a family -- and more importantly, you can leave the room and not have to worry about what they're watching."
Michael Supranowicz, president and CEO of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, was about 15 when Sesame Street hit the airwaves. While as a teenager he missed the bandwagon, he learned to appreciate the series when his son was born.
"[Sesame Street] was a fantastic piece of work done by some forward-thinking people to really engage children at levels of education," Supranowicz said.
Discussing the diversity of the production, he said it wasn't just about representing all cultures, but giving a strong moral as well.
"To recognize that there are so many different people out there, and if you respect everyone else, you will do fine," he said.
Yet with so many options for programming these days, Sesame Street has taken other avenues -- books, dolls, clothing -- to continue cultivating its 2- to 5-year-old target audience.
"It's part of their growing up as kids," said Interprint Managing Director William M. Hines Jr., who watched the show in the 1970s. "There were always a lot of Elmo toys in the house."
But through it all -- cast additions such as Zoe or Sherlock Hemlock, and even expanding Cookie Monster's food selection to vegetables -- Berkshire County has stood by Sesame Street as a timeless cultural touchstone.
"I like the continuity -- you could turn on Sesame Street today, and it is almost the same show it was 40 years ago," Guyer said. "Some of the faces have changed, obviously, but pretty much they're still doing the same formula that worked 40 years ago on me.
"It worked on my son, and a few decades from now, it will probably work on my grandchildren."
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