Happy Birthday, Mister Rogers
Fred Rogers, if he were alive, would be 87 today.
For the record: Mister Rogers didn't wear those sweaters to hide Marine tattoos, he was never a sniper with the Navy SEALS, he wasn't doing the show as a penance for a child molestation charge, and his car was (probably) never stolen and then sheepishly returned by the thieves when they realized whose it was.
He was exactly the same person he was on TV. A gentle, soft-spoken man showing simple projects kids could make themselves, taking them on tours of interesting places, or meeting people like firemen or scientists to show what kind of jobs they do, and talking to young children about things that could sometimes worry them, so he could reassure them that they were special "just the way you are."
He did it for about forty years, on a simple set at a local PBS station, with music provided by a piano player behind the camera, and with no choppy hyperactive editing. And for that he was somehow remarkable.
Fred Rogers: We'd call you "Badass" sir, but we know you wouldn't appreciate that sort of language.
For the record: Mister Rogers didn't wear those sweaters to hide Marine tattoos, he was never a sniper with the Navy SEALS, he wasn't doing the show as a penance for a child molestation charge, and his car was (probably) never stolen and then sheepishly returned by the thieves when they realized whose it was.
He was exactly the same person he was on TV. A gentle, soft-spoken man showing simple projects kids could make themselves, taking them on tours of interesting places, or meeting people like firemen or scientists to show what kind of jobs they do, and talking to young children about things that could sometimes worry them, so he could reassure them that they were special "just the way you are."
He did it for about forty years, on a simple set at a local PBS station, with music provided by a piano player behind the camera, and with no choppy hyperactive editing. And for that he was somehow remarkable.
Fred Rogers: We'd call you "Badass" sir, but we know you wouldn't appreciate that sort of language.