OK, Sesame Street memory time!

The Street has taught many things over the years – letters, numbers, the challenge of bein’ green – but it did especially well at demonstrating the common earworm, the song that won’t leave you alone. There are tunes from my Sesame days that still rattle around my head at odd moments, from the legendary “Rubber Duckie” to the slightly bizarre “Me Lost Me Cookie at the Disco.” (Look, the ‘70s were a strange time, ok?)

But one of the most enduring tunes may have been “Who Are The People in Your Neighborhood?” Usually sung by Bob the music teacher, it taught kids how to recognize common professions and what they did all day, such as firefighters, crossing guards, and even the now mostly-vanished elevator operator.

These days, of course, we’re all pretty good at telling the pharmacist from the mechanic and the lifeguard. But when an unfamiliar person rings the doorbell, it’s still not a bad idea to ask yourself “Who is this person in my neighborhood?” Even when it’s someone you’ve made an appointment with.

Such as, say, one of our NextLight folks.

As I’ve mentioned before, the Longmont community has really embraced NextLight – our municipal fiber-optic internet service hit 20,000 NextLight customers last year and we’re still going strong. That means that a lot of residents have been making appointments for a NextLight installer to come by. It’s generally pretty straightforward – you call us at 303-651-8386, we give you a day and a window of time, show up when we’re supposed to, and get you hooked up with one of the fastest connections in the nation.

But as our friends in the Longmont Police Department remind us, one should always be careful with a new visitor on the doorstep. How can you tell if the installer is really from NextLight?

Once again, it’s pretty simple:

• Our NextLight installers will have a NextLight logo on their clothing and vehicle.
• Our NextLight installers all carry appropriate City of Longmont ID and will show it on request.
• And if you’re still not sure, you can call our customer service team during NextLight working hours at 303-651-8386 and we’ll be glad to make sure that your new arrival is part of our crew. (After hours, you can also call the LPD’s non-emergency dispatch line at 303-651-8501 to help verify.)

Just like that, you’ll know the NextLight worker is a person in your neighborhood, and that your fast fiber is on the way.

And that’s music to everybody’s ears.