Well, another closet affection of mine is for this man, who left us too soon, but left so much good behind. He was a light (and there were few) in the forlorn darkness of my childhood. These tributes to Fred Rogers go beyond the man himself. And if he touched your life in some way, in childhood or later on, then you may enjoy re-visiting such memories.

Many years ago I wrote Fred Rogers a letter, thanking him for his presence in my life, both in childhood and more secretly into adulthood. He wrote me back within a week or so (I still have his letter in my safe deposit box). About two or three years later, my mother received a phone call. The person on the line was asking for my phone number, and it was Mr. Rogers. He told my mother that he had been cleaning out his desk, and found my letter. He said he remembered writing me, but wanted to be certain I had received his letter in response.

Amazing . . . . . . . .


This first video is in honor of a journalist who met Rogers and found himself, over some years, slowly tranformed by the friendship, leading to a book:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4-O5S2VJ0o

Here is video of Mr. Rogers before the U.S. Senate in 1969, attempting to preserve money for PBS programming. I post this one because it shows how grace communicated itself through Fred, touching people so easily, and from seemingly every walk of life:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXEuEUQIP3Q


The next one is a lovely and brief tribute put to music:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlTjWUziZhg

And his brief and touching speech upon receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from Hollywood:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBt8keQTPb0

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upm9LnuCBUM


And last of all, Fred's goodbye moment on PBS, on the eve of his retirement not too long before his death. He was struggling with stomach cancer:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlTjWUziZhg

And for those who might want a more autobiographic sketch, here is the first of a nine part series of interviews with Mr. Rogers for the Archives of American Television. The other segments all look available:


www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjD3LtozAQk

w.c., that's a fine story about the letter from Mr. Rogers. You'd shared it earlier:
- http://shalomplace.com/cgi-bin...t_topic;f=2;t=000091
( - a very nice comment from Brad, too - )

Sounds like you've been missing Mr. R. I commented on that other thread about how our children used to enjoy watching him. I'd tune in as well. Such a gentle, loving soul, as those wonderful youtube videos remind us. (youtube is great, isn't it?)

Yes, I remember posting that before, but ran across the American Television Archive material and other videos which I hadn't seen. So I thought I'd post again, since he is one of those souls, like Bede Griffiths, where the qualities of a saint, or someone with a significant degree of sanctification, come through. Interestingly, during the first segment of interviews for the archive, he mentions that each morning he would swim, but prior to going to the pool would spend several hours reading and in prayer.

A good write-up on his life and work:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Rogers
He was an ordained Presbyterian minister.

I've often thought that people with wounded inner child issues could benefit by watching his show and participating. His kind and gentle manner are most healing.

Sidenote: for years, I had on my Christmas list a "red, zip-up sweater like Mr. Rogers puts on when he comes home from work." I received a couple of red, button-up sweaters, and a brown zip-up, but never a red one. That was a nice little transition he had: change coat for sweater, and dress shoes for sneakers.

Our little ones used to talk back to him when he'd ask questions and make comments. Quite a connection he had with kids (and grownups, too).