Glad you enjoyed it waysider, and Paw. Worth a moment to consider his life. This story from the article caught my eye:
According to a TV Guide piece on him, Fred Rogers drove a plain old Impala for years. One day, however, the car was stolen from the street near the TV station. When Rogers filed a police report, the story was picked up by every newspaper, radio and media outlet around town. Amazingly, within 48 hours the car was left in the exact spot where it was taken from, with an apology on the dashboard. It read, "If we'd known it was yours, we never would have taken it."
There's different versions of that story I've read but the basic facts of it seem to be the same, of the car and the return after it was reported in the media. :) It kind of adds a new shade of meaning to the saying "good overcomes evil".
What a great article! I'd never watched much public television while growing up, and didn't really understand much about who "Craig and Don and Them" were making fun of at the microphone; they used to get a laugh from the lunchroom crowd by lisping while while imitating Mr. Rogers, and insinuating that he was wimpy or gay. I have since read, however, that in real life, Fred Rogers was an ex-Marine. He wore long sleeves because he had tattoos on his arms. When my own children were young, they absolutely loved him. He was a wonderful neighbor to them. Besides, now they know how crayola crayons are made, and how teddy bears are sewn, and lots of other cool things.
It's true that the world could use a few more like him.
Thanks for posting the article about Mr. Rogers, Socks. We could sure use more people like him. I loved the story about taking the chauffeur to the PBS bigshot's house and then visiting the chauffeur's home on the return trip.
I remember when his show started, when my son was small. I loved watching it with him. He taught his little viewers such positive lessons, and I think he was really able to convey to them that they were special.
I took great joy in poking fun at Mr. Rogers over the years (" I like the way you say that!"), sorta along the lines of Cheech and Chong.
But then I saw an episode of his show where he had some handicapped kid on as his special guest because the kid had sent him a letter and requested to be on his show. There wasn't a dry eye in the house when that segment was over. If you've ever seen that particular show, you know what I'm talking about.
Yeah, it's a pleasure to ponder his life's work. :) Guess there's a few fans here!He talks about some interesting ideas in this video, from youtube when Public Broadcasting was about to take a proposed cut.
I took great joy in poking fun at Mr. Rogers over the years...Whatta sweet, caring man he was...
Me too, George. He did seem to be good natured about the various reactions he got from the media, others. Once our kids watched him, it struck me (as so many others) that young kids "got him" immediately. After seeing him I realized how difficult and even scarey it must be to always be talked to by people so much bigger than you and I started kneeling or crouching down when speaking to kids. Much better on their eye level. .
I loved watching it with him.
That was such a point of his, :) and so many people have good memories of watching him together with their family. It didn't require much explanation or covering their kids' eyes 20 times, or ever having to say "uh...let's see what else is on". It was always appropriate for the audience.
Bless his heart . He showed love to those in need of it every day and was a stable force for so many who needed the hope of a better life.
Yes indeedy Pond. He mentions "trust" in that video. That's what struck me about the car theft incident - when you're in Mr. Rogers' neighborhood, a person knows it's not right to steal. :) Scintillatingly simple, the force of his love for others.
It's true that the world could use a few more like him.
NIKA - oh yes. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Even perusing his life and then pondering the things he did and said, watching him in action a little here and there - fills the mind with good thoughts. An hour goes by, then a few and those kind of thoughts and desires can be pushed out if not rekindled. It's worth a few minutes everyday to feed the brain on pure goodness, or as pure as we can find and in whatever form. And it's worth spreading around a little too.
Thank you dooj and waysider for those video clips. Is that a piece of the one George was referring to in the Tribute - George?
The way he addressed his viewers in that one clip is very personal, waysider. He knows that there are those who he's made an impact on, ("you are Mr. Rogers aren't you?") who have gotten a little or a lot from his many broadcasts and he places them at the center of his message, thanking them for what they've done and his pride in "their" efforts to help the children in their lives. TV being what it is, it's gone so quickly. His work in TV clearly lives on.
I guess it's obvious, but we were all children at one time. Whether we had the opportunities he tried to offer in his way or not, I doubt many would argue that it would do a little one good to have that kind of trust and sense of hope brought to them at that age. We forget I think that when we're so small and new we have cares and fears, in the smallest of things - things that are our size. Likewise today our problems are real and sized to match our age, even bigger it seems. When life becomes like a huge ball of impossibly tangled string and yarn and we can't even see where to begin straightening it all out...we need a place to start, over, again. To even hear that we can is meaninngful.
He reminds me of Jesus saying: "Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
To be the provider to a child and to help those who won't survive if not helped - what could be greater? I'm certainly glad ol' Fred did what he did, for everyone he did reach at that age where we all need it the most. That's probably why so many people respect what he did. He did it for them.
Did you know that he was in the service in WW2? He was the marine version of the Navy Seal and was one of the people who landed on Iwo Jima when they landed and was wonded and got a medal.
He also wore the long sleaved shirts and sweaters to cover the tattos that he incurred while in the service. This was a fact that I didn't know untill about a year or so ago.
sites actually disagree with that dante, and since it's come up twice on this thread (honestly I'm sure) I feel it's right to at least post that these points have been challenged. Two main points stick out - one, he was never in the service according to these sources, and there are no gaps in his known history of education, career and family that would leave time for him to have been in the service. This quote sizes it up:
After graduating from Rollins College in Florida with a degree in music in 1951, he immediately embarked on a broadcasting career -- a career that continued uninterrupted for nearly 50 years, even while he studied for a Bachelor of Divinity degree, eventually becoming an ordained minister in 1962.
One of the reasons that it's important on the Navy Seal issue is that there seems to have been many people over the years who lie about their military past, and the Seals had for a time a "Wall of Shame" site where they listed names of people that had incidents of doing exactly that. I've never seen any quotes or statements from Fred Rogers where he speaks about or implies anything about military service. That seems to have been attributed to him by others.
Sites discussing the military rumors deal with the Vietnam War, although the facts would seem to apply to WW2, if he was never in the service. I'd be interested in any information that confirms his miltary service record if he had one, though.
Thanks for the heads up on 'Mr. Rogers' socks. I've heard about a lot of people that embelished thier records and even went as far as getting medals that they were not entitled to, like the Purple heart, Medal of Honor and other medals that they got Illegaly.
No prob, dante. I had kinda heard those things about him too.
One thing I have found surprisingly plain about him is that he was a "normal" adult. Kinda silly to say, but he wasn't an actor, like say Pee Wee Herman, who had his own career in children's TV. He didn't put on the sweater and "become" Mr. Rogers, his TV personna was an extension of how he actually was.
It's a sign of our times that him being soft spoken, polite, thoughtful, positive and overall pretty cheery most of the time would be suspect to some people. (not us here but some things I've read sound like that). As if he had to have something up his sleeve at some point. People have called him "creepy" in the way he focused on children. On the other hand I read an online board where he was being discussed and a person said they believed he was a "buddah", a truly enlightened human being in our day.
Reading and watching some interviews he's done, he presents himself as thoughtful and mindful, polite, and very aware of his environment and other people.
It's of interest to me that in his sheer "ordinariness" that he achieved a somewhat "holy" personna in the minds of others. On the one hand he seemed so consistently focused and disciplined in what he did, on the other hand he didn't do anything you or I wouldn't, or couldn't.
It takes what might be considered an ascetic "saintly" life and lives it in all of the common day to day affairs we all deal in - work, family, social interactions, friendships, success, disappointments, new experiences, etc. etc. Peel away the layers again and again and he was just working and living, but with a mindfulness of his choosing.
He appears to have had a very singular and developed view of the value of human life. For myself, I can see a great truth there - that each life lived is unique, and non-repeatable. Each of us is the only one of "us" that there will ever be. Before, none like us, after, no more the same. At one point years ago that hit me, like a ton of beach balls and I haven't been able to quite get past it. It changed how I viewed life in a very simple but powerful way.
He's definitely inspiring. I'm glad we can share his stuff here.
From all I've read about him and seen of him, Fred Rogers epitomized walking in love. That concept sounds so simple, maybe because we've heard it so much, yet it's sooooo deep. Like, "God is love." A simple three-word sentence but oh, so powerful.
Although he was an ordained minister, I'd bet he spent very little (or no) time arguing about doctrine. Looks to me like he was persuaded in the depth of his soul about the importance, the essence of love. That was his doctrine, and he lived it. Powerful, powerful, powerful.
he had a butch of friends on the show that played powerful roles.
my fav. was the delivery guy who had the cool movies about when they went to vist different places. like how do ya make a base ball . it was an exciting show, not boring. he had alot of good stuff on there and the puppets do not forget the KING and the nephew all that was so cool and the trolley we all know that bell sound right when the trolley came and we went into puppet land with the owl and the grown up dressed up in customes.
it was a good show too .
he had a very cool gang too.
he had a butch of friends on the show that played powerful roles.
my fav. was the delivery guy who had the cool movies about when they went to vist different places. like how do ya make a base ball . it was an exciting show, not boring. he had alot of good stuff on there and the puppets do not forget the KING and the nephew all that was so cool and the trolley we all know that bell sound right when the trolley came and we went into puppet land with the owl and the grown up dressed up in customes.
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waysider
Thanks, Socks
He was quite a guy.
It wouldn't hurt the World to have a few more like him.
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pawtucket
Great article. Truly humble man.
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socks
Glad you enjoyed it waysider, and Paw. Worth a moment to consider his life. This story from the article caught my eye:
According to a TV Guide piece on him, Fred Rogers drove a plain old Impala for years. One day, however, the car was stolen from the street near the TV station. When Rogers filed a police report, the story was picked up by every newspaper, radio and media outlet around town. Amazingly, within 48 hours the car was left in the exact spot where it was taken from, with an apology on the dashboard. It read, "If we'd known it was yours, we never would have taken it."
There's different versions of that story I've read but the basic facts of it seem to be the same, of the car and the return after it was reported in the media. :) It kind of adds a new shade of meaning to the saying "good overcomes evil".
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notinKansasanymore
Thanks, Socks!
What a great article! I'd never watched much public television while growing up, and didn't really understand much about who "Craig and Don and Them" were making fun of at the microphone; they used to get a laugh from the lunchroom crowd by lisping while while imitating Mr. Rogers, and insinuating that he was wimpy or gay. I have since read, however, that in real life, Fred Rogers was an ex-Marine. He wore long sleeves because he had tattoos on his arms. When my own children were young, they absolutely loved him. He was a wonderful neighbor to them. Besides, now they know how crayola crayons are made, and how teddy bears are sewn, and lots of other cool things.
It's true that the world could use a few more like him.
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pond
Mr Rogers
He was the only father figure for many latch key children and single parent homes for many years.
Bless his heart . He showed love to those in need of it every day and was a stable force for so many who needed the hope of a better life.
One of the good guys.
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Linda Z
Thanks for posting the article about Mr. Rogers, Socks. We could sure use more people like him. I loved the story about taking the chauffeur to the PBS bigshot's house and then visiting the chauffeur's home on the return trip.
I remember when his show started, when my son was small. I loved watching it with him. He taught his little viewers such positive lessons, and I think he was really able to convey to them that they were special.
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George Aar
I took great joy in poking fun at Mr. Rogers over the years (" I like the way you say that!"), sorta along the lines of Cheech and Chong.
But then I saw an episode of his show where he had some handicapped kid on as his special guest because the kid had sent him a letter and requested to be on his show. There wasn't a dry eye in the house when that segment was over. If you've ever seen that particular show, you know what I'm talking about.
Whatta sweet, caring man he was...
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socks
Yeah, it's a pleasure to ponder his life's work. :) Guess there's a few fans here!He talks about some interesting ideas in this video, from youtube when Public Broadcasting was about to take a proposed cut.
Here's the video:
Here's a transcript of his testimony. (I'm not familiar with the rest of the website but found the transcript there)
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socks
I took great joy in poking fun at Mr. Rogers over the years...Whatta sweet, caring man he was...
Me too, George. He did seem to be good natured about the various reactions he got from the media, others. Once our kids watched him, it struck me (as so many others) that young kids "got him" immediately. After seeing him I realized how difficult and even scarey it must be to always be talked to by people so much bigger than you and I started kneeling or crouching down when speaking to kids. Much better on their eye level. .
I loved watching it with him.
That was such a point of his, :) and so many people have good memories of watching him together with their family. It didn't require much explanation or covering their kids' eyes 20 times, or ever having to say "uh...let's see what else is on". It was always appropriate for the audience.
Bless his heart . He showed love to those in need of it every day and was a stable force for so many who needed the hope of a better life.
Yes indeedy Pond. He mentions "trust" in that video. That's what struck me about the car theft incident - when you're in Mr. Rogers' neighborhood, a person knows it's not right to steal. :) Scintillatingly simple, the force of his love for others.
It's true that the world could use a few more like him.
NIKA - oh yes. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Even perusing his life and then pondering the things he did and said, watching him in action a little here and there - fills the mind with good thoughts. An hour goes by, then a few and those kind of thoughts and desires can be pushed out if not rekindled. It's worth a few minutes everyday to feed the brain on pure goodness, or as pure as we can find and in whatever form. And it's worth spreading around a little too.
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waysider
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excathedra
thank you so much
for this wonderful thread about a wonderful human being
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doojable
Tribute to Mr Rogers...
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socks
Thank you dooj and waysider for those video clips. Is that a piece of the one George was referring to in the Tribute - George?
The way he addressed his viewers in that one clip is very personal, waysider. He knows that there are those who he's made an impact on, ("you are Mr. Rogers aren't you?") who have gotten a little or a lot from his many broadcasts and he places them at the center of his message, thanking them for what they've done and his pride in "their" efforts to help the children in their lives. TV being what it is, it's gone so quickly. His work in TV clearly lives on.
I guess it's obvious, but we were all children at one time. Whether we had the opportunities he tried to offer in his way or not, I doubt many would argue that it would do a little one good to have that kind of trust and sense of hope brought to them at that age. We forget I think that when we're so small and new we have cares and fears, in the smallest of things - things that are our size. Likewise today our problems are real and sized to match our age, even bigger it seems. When life becomes like a huge ball of impossibly tangled string and yarn and we can't even see where to begin straightening it all out...we need a place to start, over, again. To even hear that we can is meaninngful.
He reminds me of Jesus saying: "Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
To be the provider to a child and to help those who won't survive if not helped - what could be greater? I'm certainly glad ol' Fred did what he did, for everyone he did reach at that age where we all need it the most. That's probably why so many people respect what he did. He did it for them.
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danteh1
Another "little known fact" about Mr. Rogers.
Did you know that he was in the service in WW2? He was the marine version of the Navy Seal and was one of the people who landed on Iwo Jima when they landed and was wonded and got a medal.
He also wore the long sleaved shirts and sweaters to cover the tattos that he incurred while in the service. This was a fact that I didn't know untill about a year or so ago.
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socks
SNOPES and about.com's urban legends
sites actually disagree with that dante, and since it's come up twice on this thread (honestly I'm sure) I feel it's right to at least post that these points have been challenged. Two main points stick out - one, he was never in the service according to these sources, and there are no gaps in his known history of education, career and family that would leave time for him to have been in the service. This quote sizes it up:
After graduating from Rollins College in Florida with a degree in music in 1951, he immediately embarked on a broadcasting career -- a career that continued uninterrupted for nearly 50 years, even while he studied for a Bachelor of Divinity degree, eventually becoming an ordained minister in 1962.
The site navyseals.com devotes some space to clarifying these items too.
One of the reasons that it's important on the Navy Seal issue is that there seems to have been many people over the years who lie about their military past, and the Seals had for a time a "Wall of Shame" site where they listed names of people that had incidents of doing exactly that. I've never seen any quotes or statements from Fred Rogers where he speaks about or implies anything about military service. That seems to have been attributed to him by others.
Sites discussing the military rumors deal with the Vietnam War, although the facts would seem to apply to WW2, if he was never in the service. I'd be interested in any information that confirms his miltary service record if he had one, though.
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danteh1
Thanks for the heads up on 'Mr. Rogers' socks. I've heard about a lot of people that embelished thier records and even went as far as getting medals that they were not entitled to, like the Purple heart, Medal of Honor and other medals that they got Illegaly.
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socks
No prob, dante. I had kinda heard those things about him too.
One thing I have found surprisingly plain about him is that he was a "normal" adult. Kinda silly to say, but he wasn't an actor, like say Pee Wee Herman, who had his own career in children's TV. He didn't put on the sweater and "become" Mr. Rogers, his TV personna was an extension of how he actually was.
It's a sign of our times that him being soft spoken, polite, thoughtful, positive and overall pretty cheery most of the time would be suspect to some people. (not us here but some things I've read sound like that). As if he had to have something up his sleeve at some point. People have called him "creepy" in the way he focused on children. On the other hand I read an online board where he was being discussed and a person said they believed he was a "buddah", a truly enlightened human being in our day.
Reading and watching some interviews he's done, he presents himself as thoughtful and mindful, polite, and very aware of his environment and other people.
It's of interest to me that in his sheer "ordinariness" that he achieved a somewhat "holy" personna in the minds of others. On the one hand he seemed so consistently focused and disciplined in what he did, on the other hand he didn't do anything you or I wouldn't, or couldn't.
It takes what might be considered an ascetic "saintly" life and lives it in all of the common day to day affairs we all deal in - work, family, social interactions, friendships, success, disappointments, new experiences, etc. etc. Peel away the layers again and again and he was just working and living, but with a mindfulness of his choosing.
He appears to have had a very singular and developed view of the value of human life. For myself, I can see a great truth there - that each life lived is unique, and non-repeatable. Each of us is the only one of "us" that there will ever be. Before, none like us, after, no more the same. At one point years ago that hit me, like a ton of beach balls and I haven't been able to quite get past it. It changed how I viewed life in a very simple but powerful way.
He's definitely inspiring. I'm glad we can share his stuff here.
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Linda Z
From all I've read about him and seen of him, Fred Rogers epitomized walking in love. That concept sounds so simple, maybe because we've heard it so much, yet it's sooooo deep. Like, "God is love." A simple three-word sentence but oh, so powerful.
Although he was an ordained minister, I'd bet he spent very little (or no) time arguing about doctrine. Looks to me like he was persuaded in the depth of his soul about the importance, the essence of love. That was his doctrine, and he lived it. Powerful, powerful, powerful.
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pond
he had a very cool gang too.
he had a butch of friends on the show that played powerful roles.
my fav. was the delivery guy who had the cool movies about when they went to vist different places. like how do ya make a base ball . it was an exciting show, not boring. he had alot of good stuff on there and the puppets do not forget the KING and the nephew all that was so cool and the trolley we all know that bell sound right when the trolley came and we went into puppet land with the owl and the grown up dressed up in customes.
it was a good show too .
he had a very cool gang too.
he had a butch of friends on the show that played powerful roles.
my fav. was the delivery guy who had the cool movies about when they went to vist different places. like how do ya make a base ball . it was an exciting show, not boring. he had alot of good stuff on there and the puppets do not forget the KING and the nephew all that was so cool and the trolley we all know that bell sound right when the trolley came and we went into puppet land with the owl and the grown up dressed up in customes.
it was a good show too .
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