Mr Rogers an Icon of American Culture Continues to Touch Lives, After All These Years

On Thursday, February 27, 2003, an icon of American culture died. I am not talking of Babe Ruth, "Miss America" or even Lassie. The icon I am speaking of is Mister Rogers of MISTER ROGERS NEIGHBORHOOD fame. Diagnosed with stomach cancer shortly before Christmas, Fred Rogers, age 74, succumbed to the disease that claims so many each year, on Thursday. Though the show stopped production in December of 2000 and then aired in August of 2001, producers were still airing re-peats of this ageless program up to and after he became too ill to participate in new episodes. I honestly had forgotten about this book until I learned of his death.

Children in the "tie dye" 60's, the "disco" 70's, "big hair" 80's, "brand name" 90's and even the New Millennium, sat down each day in front of their T.V.'s and watched this soft spoken man with the gentle smile, low-key voice and ever present sweater and slippers. He was a part of nearly 4 generations of children, even some whom watch today with their grandchildren, a show which is virtually unchanged from when they watched themselves as children years ago. In fact, I vividly remember babysitting a little girl after school every day when I was in Junior High and she INSISTED on watching MISTER ROGERS every day. To be honest, I sat and watched with her, for his simple honesty and unconditional caring, touched all ages. This self-same young girl is now a Mother of a teenager, the same child whom she recalls having watched Mister Rogers as intently when she was a child, as did her Mother those 30 plus years ago!

So, when I discovered that Mister Rogers died, I found myself with a strange sense of emptiness. It wasn't as if I were a big Mister Rogers fan. In fact, although I knew my then 4 year old son enjoyed watching the show, I didn't regularly sit and watch with him. Somehow, it always seemed I had something "more important" to do than watch the show. But upon hearing the news of his death, I felt a need to re-introduce both of my sons to his sound, simple advice. On a bookshelf, in a place of honor, sat a book entitled, "Dear Mister Rogers, Does It Ever Rain In Your Neighborhood?. Originally purchased as a reference for a gifted education class I was taking at the time.

Upon opening this book I re-discovered the wonder and simplicity of Mister Rogers and his ageless advice. In it, he prints letters he received from children, unedited, with misspellings and grammatical errors not detracting from the books impact, but in fact, underscoring the honesty of the children writing this "authority figure" they loved so well.

One letter touched me upon first viewing this book and in fact, sill touches me today. In it, a young child tells Mister Rogers of the pain divorce brought to his home and how the child feels torn with feelings for both parents. I remember this letter as it seemed to reach out from the pages, and communicate the pain, confusion and heartache of this child, who was so sure that Mister Rogers could solve the problem as only Mr. Rogers could do. I also remember the common sense, heartfelt advice Mr. Rogers gave this child and how his common sense words could pertain to so many children facing this kind of situation.

This is but one example of a letter in a book of dozens broaching every subject from divorce, shyness, bullying, death and even the trepidation one child felt about learning to write cursive and not being able to 'do it right". In this book, we the reader, see the honesty of children laid out in black and white. We are reminded, in case we forget, that even the most "gifted" of children have fears and concerns, some which we as parents might be too busy or too preoccupied in our own lives to give importance. Mister Rogers did just that. He put value on each and every letter he received. He listened and replied, not with judgment or the often heard "don't be silly", but with empathy and understanding few adults possess.

In this book of 185 pages in length, we see children run the gamut of emotions from elation to despair and in turn we experience firsthand the acceptance of Mister Rogers and see his unconditional love for children. In fact, it occurred to me, upon reading this book,that it would be a rare adult indeed who could read this book and not recall a painful or awkward experience in their own lives, and then see a solution within Mister Rogers reply.

I sincerely recommend this book for all, parents and children alike. Though this book is touted as being focused on the 9 to 12 year old age group, it actually covers a much broader age of children. Upon reading this book, I can see easily, how it can broach subjects that a child might find too painful to share with a parent. It would prove to be an insightful "springboard" for many discussions with children of the pre-teen age. And in fact, it would be a great addition to any upper elementary classroom. A teacher could easily read the letters to a class, and follow up by asking the class to "solve" the problem using character education and/or empathy. It is a great experience and exercise in problem solving and in character building as well. Somehow, I think Mr. Rogers would be proud, don't you?