Bert-Colored Ernie

Dear Internet,
 Let's go a little light on the sci-fi this week.  Here's our old childhood friend Ernie.  And he is decidedly Bert-colored.  I don't know the significance of this...just that it feels somehow significant.

Here's a creepy thing about Ernie.  I only see this now as Adult Me, though the Kid Me captured it pretty well.  While Ernie seems like a happy go-lucky fellow -- he has that rubber ducky he sings about, he's always pulling Bert's leg, he's got that infectious laugh, he's a fun guy -- the whole time he's laughing, he has sad, sad eyes.