I remember hearing that the National Enquirer was always trying to dig up some dirt on him but they never could, because he was just a nice guy.
I think it’s sad that the rest of the world has been deprived of Mr. Rogers, while in the U.S. we get “The Wiggles” whether we want them or not.
We wil all meow meow miss Mr. Rogers meow very much meow.
Peace.
When someone we see on TV dies, that can make you feel really sad. Do you feel sad? I do.
In fact, Mr. Dressup (Ernie Coombs) credited Mr. Rogers with being his inspiration for a lot of his material. His show was much the same; short on the whiz-bang razzle dazzle, and long on real creativity, storytelling, and imagination. The shows were even quite similar, although Mr. Dressup had more drawing and crafts than music (Ernie Coombs was a trained artist; Fred Rogers was a trained musician.)
It’s so fashionable these days to decry anything for kids, or to decry kids themselves. (Well, it’s fashionable on Internet message boards, that is.) They’re snotnoses and brats and this and that, and God forbid they make noise and I hate kids blah blah blah. And many of those who “entertain” kids do so with flash and bang and violence squeezed in between the commercials, because they see kids as just consumers to be squeezed.
Men like Mr. Rogers and Mr. Dressup are worth their weight in gold - men who genuinely dedicated their careers to making kids happy and loved, at an age when we most need it.
Before Nickelodeon and Toon Disney and whatever hyperactive in-your-face cartoons and shows there are today, there was Mr. Rogers. His calm demeanor and memorable songs made me love him as a kid. Hearing the news was like finding out a family member died and I’m deeply saddened by his death.
God Bless you Mr. Rogers, I’ll still be your Neighbor.