Mr. Rogers dead at 74
Read his biography here.
I have a lot of respect for Mr Rogers. Sure, the show is slow, but it’s meant for very little children. Mr Rogers thought about very little children — what their needs were, what they were thinking about — and took them seriously.
My favorite Mr. Rogers story: ever notice that, when he feeds the fish, he always says “feed the fish!” or something like that? He does that because of a letter he received from a father that roughly ran, Dear Mr. Rogers, please help me. My little daughter loves your show. She is blind, so if you don’t say that you’re feeding the fish, she doesn’t know you’re doing it, and she is afraid they’ll starve.
I also get a chuckle when I see the show because the neighborhood (the “real” one, not King Friday’s domain) is based on the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Shadyside, near where my husband went to school. (That’s why it’s so hilly.)
Here are the lyrics to one of my favorite Mr Rogers songs.
When Hambet sees the show ending, he always waves and says “Bye bye Wogers! Bye bye!” Bye bye, Mr. Rogers.