Today is National Grouch Day. Got a Problem With That?

by Jon Azpiri | October 15, 2008 at 09:10 am

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October 15th is National Grouch Day, and it's arrival couldn't come at a better time. During a month when the world has seen protests regarding the global economic meltdown, Canadian voters staying home in droves, and hockey fans boo Sarah Palin and her 7-year-old daughter, it seems that people have plenty to complain about.

According to that trusted journal, Sesame Street magazine, October 15th is a time to honor all the good things about being a grouch.

A Grouch's mission in life is to be as miserable and grouchy as possible, and pass that feeling on to everyone else. Only then will a Grouch feel in touch with his or her world and be happy. Yet, even though a Grouch may show happiness at anyone's misfortune (including his or her own), a Grouch would never admit to being happy. Such is the stability of a Grouch's life: so balanced, and yet so unbalanced.

Indeed, Jim Henson and the gang at Sesame Street have done more to boost the profile of grouches in popular culture than anyone else. While TV is currently flooded with grouches like Dr. Gregory House on "House" and Larry David on "Curb Your Enthusiasm", none can compare to Oscar the Grouch, the curmudgeonly green muppet with a colorful past.

For many Canadians of a certain age, their baptismal splash of snark came courtesy of Oscar the Grouch. Sesame Street's trash-can-dwelling Muppet, who incidentally inspired National Grouch Day, may be the most prominent example of how society is taught to humour those with little humour.

"The characters (on Sesame Street) could be viewed as deliberate attempts to foster appreciations for different types of personalities in real life," Richard Graham, chairman of the children's TV division of the Popular Culture Association, said.

It seems fitting, then, that a real-life sourpuss informed Oscar the Grouch. The story goes that Jim Henson and a friend went to a Manhattan restaurant -- varyingly recounted as either 'Oscar's Salt of the Sea' or 'Oscar's Tavern' -- where they were waited on by a server so grumpy as to be comical.

According to the book Sesame Street Unpaved, Henson and his companion were so amused that they made trips to Oscar's a regular form of "masochistic entertainment ... and their waiter forever became immortalized as the world's most famous grouch."

So, is National Grouch Day a day of celebration or just a cynical marketing ploy by the pernicious folk at the Jean Ganz Cooney and the Children's Television Workshop? Let us know what you think and, in the spirit of National Grouch Day, don't feel the need to mince words.

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Jordan Yerman

at 09:46 on October 15th, 2008

I need a hug today... I admit it.

surfinsandy23

at 10:17 on October 15th, 2008

Oscar gives us permission to have a bad day, and not feel like we have to hide it or fake it. "This is how I am, and if you don't like it, then go away and leave me alone!!"

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kazerin

at 10:31 on October 15th, 2008

just another grouch =)

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Jarrett Martineau

at 11:23 on October 15th, 2008

Umm...no comment.

Zigs1

at 11:46 on October 15th, 2008

What fun to recognize Oscar the Grouch on his wall in London, Shoreditch! Created by spraycan artist Blam and lovingly preserved by Hackney Council (or that's what I've been told, and it's perfectly believable), not even the grumpiest Londoner can just walk by without giving this iconic character at least a glance. I hope that Oscar will stay for a long, long time.

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Amy Judd

at 11:49 on October 15th, 2008

I definitely feel like this today.

Nicole Billard

at 12:27 on October 15th, 2008

From the lady on the bus, to my husband, to the fine specimen of feminine poise next to me at the salad bar, it's certainly a torch being carried with pride today. I just don't get the joy of it all. Why not just admit to being stressed, grumpy or generally over tired, forgive yourself (and save others the headache of having to deal with you in an overly gentle manner) and move on?

dunkelberg

at 13:24 on October 15th, 2008

Oh, lord, you people are sooooo tiresome.
Happy Grouch Day?
Pfffffffft!

mis_lissa

at 15:06 on October 15th, 2008

Thesaurus results for: grouchy

Main Entry: grouchy
Part of Speech: adjective
Synonyms: (colloq.) unamiable, cantankerous, cross, crusty, cynical, irritable, morose, sullen, surly, testy, touchy.........

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