Won't you be My Neighbor

This week we are going to try something new. Now that I have appeased my business managers by blogging, they now want me to add video to it. So today we will have our first V-Blog. It was kind of fun and didn't take too long to do. If I am going to continue to blog I don't want to spend more than an hour on a particular entry. I decided to forgo the urge to use our high-end production facilities, tools, and capabilities and make this more of a guerilla video. I may use my Flip from time to time, but this was recorded and edited right in my MacBook (NO, not a MacBook Pro. . .LOL)

I hope you all enjoy it.



In addition to the video, I would like to recognize Mister Rogers and dispel some of the urban legends about him. To this day, as I re-read his work on child development, and watch his mannerisms on DVD, I am humbled by the peace and earnestness he brought to his craft.

Here are some untruths that people love to bring to my attention (as if they are providing me with trivia I was not aware of. . .LOL )

TATTOOS - NO, Fred Rogers does not wear sweaters because his body is covered in tattoos. The sweaters were handmade by his mother. As a matter of fact, one of them hangs in the Smithsonian. Proof of this tattoo legend can be found in the Documentary - Mister Rogers America's Favorite Neighbor. In the program he is seen doing his daily swim. Clearly NO tattoos.

WAR HERO - Sorry, Fred Rogers went from college, where he was a music major, to working behind the scenes in public television. He later went back to school to become a minister. His church became the living rooms of America in his daily show.

SEXUALITY - Come on now! Because a man is NICE, we question his sexuality? Fred Rogers was a happily married man with two sons. I have had the pleasure of speaking with people who worked with him on a daily basis and they confirm that the niceness you witnessed on TV was not an act - it was authentically Fred Rogers.

DID YOU KNOW?

Fred Rogers single-handedly saved Public Television. It was his testimony in 1969 that melted the cold heart of a cranky Senator. Without him, we may not have had the opportunity to enjoy, not only his program, but the wonderful PBS programs we still watch today. Could you imagine growing up without Sesame Street? It might have happened.

Here is a video of that.

So thank you Mister Rogers for making it all right to be nice, for making it all right to say hello to your neighbors, for saving public television, and for making us all feel special.

Happy Won't You Be My Neighbor Day Everyone.

BTW - Here is the link to the Official Neighbor Day Site:

http://www.fci.org/neighbor/