It's a Beautiful Day in this Neighborhood . . .

Two things inspired this post: 

First, a friend of mine posted on Facebook about an assignment that she is planning for a class she will be teaching. The assignment is to write a biography of a real or imaginary person and focus on how that person influenced their community for good or ill.  Since reading her post, I have been pondering who I would choose to write that essay on.

Second, March 20th commemorated what would have been Mr. Roger's 86th birthday.  And I have always loved Mr. Rogers. 

So today's post is dedicated to Mr. Rogers.  While this may be a strange blog post for me to write, when I look at some of the shows that people (including me) watch today, I have a longing for the simplicity and sincerity of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.

For 31 seasons, he taught us the difference between real and make-believe.  He wanted us to be neighbors and friends.  He introduced us to new things and guided us through childhood challenges, like the first day of school.

And his words continue to comfort us.  Shortly after the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook, articles sprang up across the internet featuring this quote from him:
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother’s words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers - so many caring people in this world.” 

While I do not have a television audience and my circle of influence is considerably smaller, I would hope that I could instill in those around me the idea that they matter to me.  I desire to be the helper, the caring person that others can turn to. 

So, yes, one of my heroes is the host of children's television show, largely because the man I saw on the television screen was real.  Mr. Rogers was not an actor portraying a positive role model for children - he was the person we looked up to both on and off the screen.

So, please won't you be my neighbor?

Mailee 


P.S. If you are interested, here is one of the articles featuring the quote, and it is also where I took the above image from: article link.