UN Chief Tickles Elmo on Sesame Street

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UN Chief Tickles Elmo on Sesame Street December 7, 2001 11:15 am EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Unruffled, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan gave the high-pitched fluffy red muppet Elmo a lesson in "conflict resolution," calmed down his monster friends and received a group hug in return.

Taping a segment of "Sesame Street," Annan showed his playful side in exchanges with the high-spirited Elmo when his friends Telly, Zoe, Rosita, Grover and Lulu fought over who gets to sing the alphabet song.

"Is there a problem I can help you with?" Annan asked. "That depends," Elmo replied "Who are you?"

Using skills acquired as the world's top diplomat, he suggested they all sing the song in unison.

"I think there is a child in each and every one of us," the soft-spoken Annan told Elmo at a "press conference" after the taping Thursday at a studio in Queens.

"Sometimes I say that is the most charming part of us," Annan said. "There is innocence. There is purity. There is laughter and it is very important for us. Keep it simple and it brings you back to earth."

In turn, Elmo asked Annan, who goes to Norway on Monday to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, where he was going to put "your trophy."

Invited to come and visit to advise where to place it, Elmo replied: "You should put it right at the foot of your bed, so every time you get up you can see it. But you have to ask your wife if that's OK."

Most celebrity guests on "Sesame Street" are athletes or entertainers. But first ladies Hillary Clinton and Barbara Bush have made appearances.

No date was given for the airing of the program which will appear on public broadcasting stations sometime during Sesame Street's new season, beginning on Feb. 4.

-- Anonymous, December 08, 2001


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