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Alternate Title: Let's Make the Most of this Beautiful Day
Some appropriate music
Artist is
crownedvictory
Mister Roger's Neighbourhood, as far as I'm aware, never aired in Australia.
So for me, Mr Roger's should be a curiosity, a fossilised gemstone of Americana, to be examined with curiosity but no real connection.
However.
When I was young, four or five years old, my Dad worked for a year in Baltimore, at Johns Hopkins University.
I remember practically nothing about my stay there, but I came back with a few souvenirs.
It took me until my teens to teach myself to call the last letter of the alphabet "zed" instead of "zee"
A Barney plush doll that didn't leave my side for several years.
And a memory of this man on TV, who had a model tram that ran through his house.
I thought was just the most awesome thing ever, to have a miniature railway running through your home.
I loved it.
So this man and his model tram settled into my subconscious, to be recalled whenever my early childhood was discussed, but never fully remembered, never actually known, because no-one in Australia knew of him.
Jump to about 20 years later and I'm having the worst year of my life.
My parents were going through a divorce which, while not bitter, really shattered my sense of self-worth because I had been deluding myself over the state of their relationship.
And if I could be so wilfully ignorant about that, I couldn't trust myself with anything.
I was in my final year of uni, placed in charge of a year-long project and totally overwhelmed by it.
There were days where I would fantasise about crashing my car into a tree to get out of the situation I was in.
I can't remember exactly what the trigger was, certainly I was procrastinating, trying to do anything other than confront the demons of my uni work.
Maybe it was after watching The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny, maybe it was the XKCD comic that mentioned him.
However it happened, I wanted to see who this Mister Rogers was.
The way people spoke about him, he was clearly something different, and I wanted to know what it was that made him different.
So I found an episode on YouTube and started watching it.
(I can tell you it was episode 1655, sadly it seems to have been taken down now)
And as soon as I heard those opening piano chimes I wept.
I remembered
Not only this kind man and his tram, but also a direct connection with my younger self.
That carefree boy who had none of the insecurities I have.
Who believed that, as long as you kept at it, any problem faced could be overcome.
Continuing to watch the show, I remembered what it was like watching it as a child.
Mister Rogers kindness and decency shining through, showing that while the world may be a frustrating, scary and dangerous place, with him, and his simple curiosity and good nature, you could overcome any challenge the world could throw at you.
I was farcically lucky stumbling onto that specific episode.
Towards the end, he sings the song It's You I Like
It was the exact message I needed to hear.
It told me that as much as I was failing at life at that moment, there were still things about me that had value.
I was still capable of redemption, should I seek it.
Had I not heard that message, had I not discovered that seed of hope, I don't know where I would have ended up.
As it was, I went on and watched his testimony to Congress, trying to get more funding for PBS.
And what stayed with me from that was his phrase of a 'community of care'
Something about that struck me.
This man cared about me.
Even though we never met, even though, by the time I was watching him he had been dead for about a decade.
He cared for me as much as he cared for everyone else.
And if he cared about me, then dammit I cared about me too.
I was going to pick myself up from the rubble of my life and find something new for myself.
I didn't expect any immediate changes, but I was determined to find the way forward that would allow me to grow into a complete person.
I'm still working on that, but I am absolutely a better, more fully rounded person than I was.
So this is my tribute to Mister Rogers.
I wish I could pass on to you a fraction of what I got from him.
I just hope that this goes some way towards paying forward that debt.
"I have always wanted to have a neighbour just like you
I have always wanted to live in a neighbourhood
With you"
"People can like you exactly as you are"
Some appropriate music
Artist is
crownedvictoryMister Roger's Neighbourhood, as far as I'm aware, never aired in Australia.
So for me, Mr Roger's should be a curiosity, a fossilised gemstone of Americana, to be examined with curiosity but no real connection.
However.
When I was young, four or five years old, my Dad worked for a year in Baltimore, at Johns Hopkins University.
I remember practically nothing about my stay there, but I came back with a few souvenirs.
It took me until my teens to teach myself to call the last letter of the alphabet "zed" instead of "zee"
A Barney plush doll that didn't leave my side for several years.
And a memory of this man on TV, who had a model tram that ran through his house.
I thought was just the most awesome thing ever, to have a miniature railway running through your home.
I loved it.
So this man and his model tram settled into my subconscious, to be recalled whenever my early childhood was discussed, but never fully remembered, never actually known, because no-one in Australia knew of him.
Jump to about 20 years later and I'm having the worst year of my life.
My parents were going through a divorce which, while not bitter, really shattered my sense of self-worth because I had been deluding myself over the state of their relationship.
And if I could be so wilfully ignorant about that, I couldn't trust myself with anything.
I was in my final year of uni, placed in charge of a year-long project and totally overwhelmed by it.
There were days where I would fantasise about crashing my car into a tree to get out of the situation I was in.
I can't remember exactly what the trigger was, certainly I was procrastinating, trying to do anything other than confront the demons of my uni work.
Maybe it was after watching The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny, maybe it was the XKCD comic that mentioned him.
However it happened, I wanted to see who this Mister Rogers was.
The way people spoke about him, he was clearly something different, and I wanted to know what it was that made him different.
So I found an episode on YouTube and started watching it.
(I can tell you it was episode 1655, sadly it seems to have been taken down now)
And as soon as I heard those opening piano chimes I wept.
I remembered
Not only this kind man and his tram, but also a direct connection with my younger self.
That carefree boy who had none of the insecurities I have.
Who believed that, as long as you kept at it, any problem faced could be overcome.
Continuing to watch the show, I remembered what it was like watching it as a child.
Mister Rogers kindness and decency shining through, showing that while the world may be a frustrating, scary and dangerous place, with him, and his simple curiosity and good nature, you could overcome any challenge the world could throw at you.
I was farcically lucky stumbling onto that specific episode.
Towards the end, he sings the song It's You I Like
It was the exact message I needed to hear.
It told me that as much as I was failing at life at that moment, there were still things about me that had value.
I was still capable of redemption, should I seek it.
Had I not heard that message, had I not discovered that seed of hope, I don't know where I would have ended up.
As it was, I went on and watched his testimony to Congress, trying to get more funding for PBS.
And what stayed with me from that was his phrase of a 'community of care'
Something about that struck me.
This man cared about me.
Even though we never met, even though, by the time I was watching him he had been dead for about a decade.
He cared for me as much as he cared for everyone else.
And if he cared about me, then dammit I cared about me too.
I was going to pick myself up from the rubble of my life and find something new for myself.
I didn't expect any immediate changes, but I was determined to find the way forward that would allow me to grow into a complete person.
I'm still working on that, but I am absolutely a better, more fully rounded person than I was.
So this is my tribute to Mister Rogers.
I wish I could pass on to you a fraction of what I got from him.
I just hope that this goes some way towards paying forward that debt.
"I have always wanted to have a neighbour just like you
I have always wanted to live in a neighbourhood
With you"
"People can like you exactly as you are"
Category Artwork (Digital) / All
Species Husky
Size 1400 x 778px
File Size 1.57 MB
Listed in Folders
This is so beautiful, thank you for writing this. It had me tearing up as well. I only wish everyone could learn to see and love each other the way Fred saw us all. The way God expects us to.
Have you watched the movie, "A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood", yet? If not, please do! I promise it will bring every one of those wonderful moments right back.
Have you watched the movie, "A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood", yet? If not, please do! I promise it will bring every one of those wonderful moments right back.
I forgot to mention in my previous comment, if you ever find yourself in the city of Pittsburgh, perhaps visiting Anthrocon, it is well worth a visit to the nearby Museum of History. It is a very short walk from the Westin Hotel, and they have an entire section devoted to Fred Rogers. Right there in the middle of it all, surrounded by much of the other props and puppets used on the show is the Neighborhood Trolley itself. The museum has a fascinating collection of artifacts pertaining to Fred Rogers as well.
I'm so glad that you appreciated my story. Writing it was some good catharsis and knowing it managed to touch others strengthens that :)
I have not got around to watching "A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood" yet, I'm really bad at making time to watch movies, but it's absolutely on my list of films to watch.
And thanks as well for the fave!
I have not got around to watching "A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood" yet, I'm really bad at making time to watch movies, but it's absolutely on my list of films to watch.
And thanks as well for the fave!
I really hope you can sometime! One of the most amazing/touching artifacts they have (IMO) is a letter written to Mr. Rogers when his car was stolen.
Fred never left the neighborhood he called home. He never let the money change him. Even as the neighborhood deteriorated some, he stayed. Some years ago a couple of guys stole his car from his driveway. It was of course broadcast all over the news networks that someone had stolen the car, and a few days later the car appeared back in Mr. Rogers' driveway, washed and with a note of apology on the dash. In the letter the bandits elaborated much of the same feelings you mention that Fred had instilled in them when they were younger, and how they had forgotten them through life's trials. They stated they would never have taken the car had they known it was his, and promised to turn themselves in and clean up their act.
It really seemed a pretty powerful testament to his teachings!
Fred never left the neighborhood he called home. He never let the money change him. Even as the neighborhood deteriorated some, he stayed. Some years ago a couple of guys stole his car from his driveway. It was of course broadcast all over the news networks that someone had stolen the car, and a few days later the car appeared back in Mr. Rogers' driveway, washed and with a note of apology on the dash. In the letter the bandits elaborated much of the same feelings you mention that Fred had instilled in them when they were younger, and how they had forgotten them through life's trials. They stated they would never have taken the car had they known it was his, and promised to turn themselves in and clean up their act.
It really seemed a pretty powerful testament to his teachings!
"It took me until my teens to teach myself to call the last letter of the alphabet "zed" instead of 'zee'."
"zed"? I've never heard the letter Z pronounced any other way other than "zee".
"There were days where I would fantasize about crashing my car into a tree to get out of the situation I was in."
I've had plenty of times in my life where I have felt the same way. Suicide is the permanent answer to often temporary situations. I do however understand why some choose to do it though.
"It told me that as much as I was failing at life at that moment, there were still things about me that had value. I was still capable of redemption, should I seek it."
Even now in my fifties, I still struggle with this simple concept.
One of my favorite quotes of his is this message: “Everyone longs to be loved. And the greatest thing we can do is to let people know that they are loved and capable of loving.” ~ Fred Rogers
"zed"? I've never heard the letter Z pronounced any other way other than "zee".
"There were days where I would fantasize about crashing my car into a tree to get out of the situation I was in."
I've had plenty of times in my life where I have felt the same way. Suicide is the permanent answer to often temporary situations. I do however understand why some choose to do it though.
"It told me that as much as I was failing at life at that moment, there were still things about me that had value. I was still capable of redemption, should I seek it."
Even now in my fifties, I still struggle with this simple concept.
One of my favorite quotes of his is this message: “Everyone longs to be loved. And the greatest thing we can do is to let people know that they are loved and capable of loving.” ~ Fred Rogers
I've never heard the letter Z pronounced any other way other than "zee"
It's true! Most other English-speaking countries (certainly England, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) call it "zed"! Of course because we get plenty of American TV if you say "zee" to anyone here they'll know what you're talking about. And "the alphabet song" ends with "zee", even over here, because that was created by Sesame Street, which is of course American.
Even now in my fifties, I still struggle with this simple concept.
It's easy to forget. It's part of the reason why I commissioned this work (and other commissions with sadder stories behind them) to remind myself of where I was, where I am now, and the positive things I've been able to do to get from there to here.
It's true! Most other English-speaking countries (certainly England, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) call it "zed"! Of course because we get plenty of American TV if you say "zee" to anyone here they'll know what you're talking about. And "the alphabet song" ends with "zee", even over here, because that was created by Sesame Street, which is of course American.
Even now in my fifties, I still struggle with this simple concept.
It's easy to forget. It's part of the reason why I commissioned this work (and other commissions with sadder stories behind them) to remind myself of where I was, where I am now, and the positive things I've been able to do to get from there to here.
Very sorry to hear about your parents splitting up, pressure at university, and other various trials life throws at you Theta. This is a very heartwarming tribute to North America's most beloved storytellers, not to mention a friend to all people regardless of our country of origin and background. I too wanna take a trolley ride through tranquil meadows of wildflowers and swirls of clouds dotting the ethereal blue above us^^
Wow, what a story, and this was so worth favoriting. I’m American and I was born in 1990, so I regularly watched Mister Rogers when I was a little boy. I’ve been through SO many ups and downs in my life, some of them were so severe I used to have suicidal thoughts. But it was only four years ago that I saw the documentary film “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”, and then I started watching Mister Rogers regularly again on PBS. I needed him desperately, as do so many people around the world these days. It’s not fair that his show was never really broadcast internationally, the world needs his guidance and lessons. But anyway, this is so beautiful, bravo!
Thank you so much for your kind words (and the fave, that's really appreciated as well). It's truly touching to know that you've found solace with Mr Rogers as well. It's incredible to think that despite our very different paths in life, we can still share the care of that wonderful man. I hope he helps see you through any challenges you have in the future as well
I actually made this drawing of Fluttershy from My Little Pony as Mister Rogers. https://www.furaffinity.net/view/47776384/
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