Today we begin a new series called "Crazy Muppet Stories" about the lengths Muppet collectors will go to to secure an item. Muppet fan and collector Sebastiano Ricci recently took a road trip to secure a very rare Sesame Street General Store sign, below is his "Crazy Muppet Story."
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| Sebastiano Ricci and his Sesame Street store sign |
How I got a Sesame Street
General Store Sign
By Sebastiano Ricci
Like any avid
puppeteer/Muppet fan, I've been collecting Muppet merchandise since I was a
youngster. Over the years, I've obtained some pretty cool stuff from friends,
online shopping, cons, and flea markets. But most recently, while scrolling
through eBay, I stumbled across a rarity: an original sign from the Sesame
Street General Stores. The General Stores were a short-lived chain of stores
across the US in the 1990s, usually in shopping malls. I've done my fair share
of research on the General Stores prior to discovering this sign. There isn't much information on the
stores... very few pictures, no videos, and very little information on the
stores exist. (if you have any pictures or footage, email me:
muppetseb@gmail.com)! I've always been interested in the history of the
stores, but they quietly closed down in the late 1990s before I was born.
My eyes lit
up when I found this sign for sale. It was from the store that was located in
the South Hill Village Mall. The seller
stated that he found it in the dumpster when the store closed. Thankfully,
the seller saw some potential in the sign and saved it from being scrapped like
many other General Store fixtures. My excitement deflated when I saw it was a
local pickup auction, in Pittsburgh, PA - which is seven hours from my home in
New York City. I inquired to the seller if shipping could be arranged, but
after getting a $700 shipping estimate from UPS, I gave up.
I watched the
auction end, without any bids. After messaging the seller, I was informed that
the sign would be thrown out since nobody wanted it. It was like I got hit with
the "no season 4 & 5 on DVD" all over again! I was crushed. I
couldn't let the sign get this far just to be trashed. I then remembered that I
had plans to go to Hershey, PA with some friends the following week, meaning I
would be 3.5 hours closer to Pittsburgh. After talking to the seller, he told
me that one other person was also still interested in the sign, and that the
sign would be re-uploaded as a "buy-it-now". I luckily snagged it
before the other guy (sorry to the other potential buyer if you're reading
this - hope you understand).
Fast-forward
to the weekend of Hershey. I enjoyed my time at Hershey Park with my friends,
but the whole time I was eagerly awaiting my road trip to Pittsburgh. My
friend, Paul, volunteered to join me on my journey. We set off to
Pittsburgh, without a map to get this show on the road... well, we did use a
GPS, if that counts. We eventually made it to Pittsburgh, and picked up the
sign from the seller. Boy, oh boy - what a sight it was. It was just laying
there, gracefully, on a gray tarp.
We shoved as
much of the sign as we could in my car, and bungeed the heck out of the trunk
door, since the 6ft long sign stuck out.
Driving 7 hours at night with an 80lb slab of metal sticking out of the
trunk is the scariest thing I've ever done, and I've watched the Bert &
Ernie Pyramid sketch...alone...in the dark.
After four
failed attempts to find an open coffee shop in order to stay awake, we finally
arrived home at 4am. After a much needed sleep-in, we went to my storage unit
to deposit the package. Of course with my wonderful luck, the elevator was out
of service, so we had to take the stairs. When I put the sign with the rest of
my collection, it stuck out like Snuffleupagus on the streets of New York City.
But in a good way... it's the centerpiece that compliments my years and years
of collecting. When the sign was on
display in the store, it used to light up; hopefully I'll figure out how to
rewire it. I'll make sure to keep ya'll updated if I get it working. When the
day comes where I have my own man cave, this sign will be sitting front and center,
reminding us of what once was.
Do you have a crazy story about obtaining a prized Muppet item? Please send it to us via our Facebook page or by email.
