Mr. Rogers Did Everything Like a Boss

In a few of my recent posts, I included a couple quotes from someone I think is truly awesome in every possible way -- Mr. Fred Rogers.

I think his message is important, and I think his legacy should live on, so I'm going to try and honor him today.

Contrary to some myths out there, Mr. Rogers was never a Navy Seal, and never served in the military. But that doesn't mean he wasn't kick ass awesome.

When I was a kid, watching Mr. Roger's Neighborhood was not the cool thing to do. But, I suspect many kids like myself, often watched the show in secret. How else would it have remained on the air? How else would all the kids know exactly who X the owl was when teasing other kids with something like, "You know you love X the owl!"

I wish I could have said, "Yeah, Bully, and just how do you know who X the owl is?"

So, I'd like to come out right now and say, "Yes, I was a closet Mr. Rogers watcher, and proud of it."
To prove Mr. Roger's was one of the most awesome people who ever lived, I'll list ten awesome things about him that I dare anyone to refute.

1. Mr. Rogers was smart. He studied at Dartmouth, then attended Rollins College. He received a B.A. in music composition, and after that, went on to graduate from the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and became an ordained minister. The idea of preaching in a church didn't appeal to him. He knew his calling was a much broader audience -- the children of the world. And he immediately realized there was potential in a new-fangled invention making waves in America -- the television.

After watching his first television show, he hated it so much he decided to explore ways to use it for his passion of teaching children. For a while he worked with NBC, doing work for music shows like Your Hit Parade, but found the network's reliance on advertising undermined his goal of teaching children. He quit NBC and started his lifelong journey with public television.

2. Mr. Rogers was creative as heck. He loved puppets, and created many of the puppets and personalities, such as King Friday XIII,  Queen Sara Saturday, and Daniel Striped Tiger, that helped The Children's Corner win the Sylvania Award for best children's show. He created basically an alternate universe of castles and trees and trolley cars that bordered on AI. He also composed almost all the music on his show. He didn't rely on writers or set designers. He did it all himself.

Look, Mr. Rogers was a giant over his world--like a giant friendly Godzilla. Maybe this is a little foreshadowing of just how much larger than life this guy would become.

3. Mr. Rogers limited "pretend" to the puppets on the show. He, himself, was no pretender. He was the same person off the show as he was on the show. To Mr. Rogers, it didn't matter who they thought he was, it mattered who he was, and he was who he was, like it or leave it.

Although he was on TV, he was no actor. I think kids could see that, and it was one of the reasons he became so popular. He said, "One of the greatest gifts you can give anybody is the gift of your honest self. I also believe that kids can spot a phony a mile away."

4. Mr. Rogers was gentle and soft-spoken, but he wasn't no wimp. When Burger King parodied him in ads during the 80's, Mr. Rogers found it odd and confusing, and not funny. He called a press conference, where he said he did not endorse the company's use of his likeness. Burger King pulled the ads without further argument. He proved you don't have to be a loudmouthed bully to get things done. He proved that heroes come in all sizes, shapes, colors, and ages.

5. Mr. Rogers never allowed the prospect of wealth influence him. The only reward he wanted was for kids to learn from his example. He never pitched any product during his career, and he chose to broadcast on public television because he knew his show would not be interrupted by advertising. He created his own brand, a brand he would never sell. His trademark sweaters were all knitted by his mother.

6. Mr. Rogers embraced the philosophy of simplicity. Every show began and ended the same way. It was predictable in a way kids found relaxing and comforting. You could count on the fish, Fennel and Frieda, always getting fed. There was always a trip to "Make-Believe Land," and Mr. Rogers even introduced the ideas of some of today's popular shows like How It's Made. Yet, despite it's simplicity, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood helped children understand deep and complex emotions and situations in a safe, comforting environment.

7. Every viewer was important to Mr. Rogers. He answered all his fan mail personally. Once, he received a letter from a blind little girl that read:

Dear Mister Rogers,

Please say when you are feeding your fish, because I worry about them. I can’t see if you are feeding them, so please say you are feeding them out loud.

From then on, Mr. Rogers always said out loud when he was feeding his fish.

8. Even animals loved Mr. Rogers! Koko, the famous gorilla who communicated with sign language, was an avid viewer of the show. When Mr. Rogers visited Koko, she immediately wrapped her arms around him, then proceeded to help him take off his shoes, just as he did on every episode of the show.

9. Mr. Rogers kept his weight at his favorite number -- 143 -- for thirty years. He swam laps every day, didn't eat anything that "had a mother," and didn't drink or smoke. He said 143 was significant because it was the number that represented "I love you."

10. Mr. Rogers appreciated everyone for just the way they were. He didn't judge, and he lived what he preached--kindness. Church leaders would often try to get him to agree on certain theological stances on particular lifestyles. But Mr. Rogers never took the bait. His answer was consistently, "God loves you just the way you are."

Man, we can all learn something from Mr. Roger's example, can't we?

Mr. Rogers, I am truly and deeply sorry for making fun of you when I was a teenager. Like many adults, I look back on my childhood thoughts and actions and realize how much I just didn't know, and how easily I was swept along with the flow of my peers. In retrospect, I see the immense value of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, and the tremendous positive effect you had on everyone you met.

Mr. Rogers, I proudly say I would be honored to be your neighbor, and wish I could have told you that when you were still here.