Gill Deacon: A thank you to the man behind the music of Sesame Street

Here and Now has launcheda new series called I Just Called To Say Thank You, in which prominent Canadians reflect on someone who has had a significant impact on their life and then actually call them to say thank you.

Host Gill Deacon came up with the idea for the series after reflecting on a special person from her own past.

Dear Joe Raposo,

I've been thinking about you a lot lately.

We never met, I realize, and yet your impact on my life has been quite significant.

Let me explain.

I'm a writer, a musician and a radio host. Thatmeanswhat I do all day is play with language, rhythm and melody. All my life I have been drawn to pursuits that involve messing around in the sandbox of my vocabulary and pulling together a combination of words and notes with acadence and pattern that will make some kind of meaning.

The other thing you need to know about me is that I was born in 1966, positioning me squarely in the target audience of the Children's Television Workshop's program Sesame Street when it first aired in 1969, an educational show for three year olds.

This is where you come into my life, Joe.

Come and play

Everything's A-OK

Friendly neighbors there

That's where we meet

Can you tell me how to get

How to get to Sesame Street

Teaching the power of music and words

I was hooked from your opening theme song. As composer and music director for Sesame Street, you surely know how much you shaped and educated young minds like mine everywhere.

But here's the thing, Joe: I'm pretty sure I would have got the alphabet and single-digit counting sorted out on my own at school; what I might never have found anywhere else was such spirited delight in the playful power of music and words.

It's a lovely 11 morning, I heard 11 worms yawning

I saw 11 cows sitting in the buttercups,

I said How's your cottage cheese they said, Aw dry up!

The songs you composed were celebratory, funny, emotionally rich and completely enchanting for my preschool mind. But it might surprise you to know how much your work stays with me even now. I have loads of your whimsical educational jingles rattling around in my head; I never know when they'll pop out.

Washing the dishes, walking the dog, tying my shoelaces I can find myself singing a merry tune plucked from the depths of my consciousness.I can't remember where I left my keys or what I had for dinner last night, but I've got a wealth of your joyful tunes committed to memory.

They had 12 sacks and they ran sack races

And they fell on their backs and they fell on their faces

Ladybugs 12

At the ladybugs picnic

Jay Joe Jeans and his jellybeans, hey! Let's sing a song about J.

Saying thank you

It occurred to me the other day that I should tell you all this, Joe. We never really know the impact we have on other lives around us so I thought I should track you down and tell you. What would I say? I wondered. I just called to say thank you seemed like a good place to start.

My search for you ended almost as quickly as it began. I saw that you died in 1989, just shy of your 52nd birthday. I'm sorry you didn't get more years to share your talents and I'm sorry I didn't think of reaching out to you sooner.

So I'll say it here. Thank you, Joe Raposo, for putting songs in my heart and a love of language in my mind. Thank you for making me smile and for showing me how much fun a person can have in the world, and how a simple arrangement of notes and ideas can be a worthwhile thing all on its own.

And then I thought some more, and figured that probably everyone has someone in their life for whom they feel grateful but have never had the chance to say so.

And wouldn't that be a wonderful radio series to put together? To give us a chance to reflect on how much of a difference we can make in other peoples' lives, to think about the people whose impact we're grateful for, and to rejoice in how good it feels to express gratitude.

I Just Called to Say Thank You airs Mondays on Here and Now, andis available to listen toon the CBC Listen app.

Thanks, Joe.