It's Lonely in the Neighborhood

MISTER ROGERS

modeled himself after a beloved grandfather. Fred Rogers encouraged children’s imaginations for many years, confronting their fears and assuring them in every episode of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, “I like you just the way you are.” Fred was born in the small town of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and became an ordained Presbyterian minister. He died in 2003 at the age of 74.

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I WAS A PARENT AND PASTOR

with two children when he was around. I remember and respect him still. Fred received many awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation’s highest civilian honor. More recently, Tom Hanks was featured as Mr. Rogers in the 2018 movie, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”

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Fred Rogers’ television programs were produced from 1969–2001 and have aired in reruns on more than 300 PBS stations. The show is Public Television’s longest running program. Fred understood the intimacy of television. He talked directly into the camera, left fast cuts and hyper-animation behind to deliberately allow for moments of silence. Unthinkable to do on television these days (or even in church for that matter).

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HIS MESSAGE

was one of love and respect for his audience. He spoke as if only to a single child. He talked about what bothers children, dealing with their “inner dramas.” He spoke of self-worth, a lesson he says he learned from his grandfather.

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His childhood was one of extreme parental protectiveness due to childhood illnesses. However, he spent his winters in Florida with Fred Brooks McFeely, the grandfather after whom he named one of his television characters. His entrepreneurial grandfather built into his grandson a “can-do” spirit, teaching him how to ride a horse, and allowing him to do things not permitted at home, like climb a garden wall and run across its top. When it was time to return home, his grandfather said to him, “You know, you made this day a really special day. Just by being yourself. There’s only one person in the world like you. And I happen to like you just the way you are.”

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That message went right to Fred Rogers’ heart and through his heart to millions of children just like he had been. He assured children that getting haircuts was not awful, you can’t get sucked down the bathtub drain, and it’s all right to miss someone who has died.

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“One of the greatest gifts you can give anybody is the gift of your honest self,” he said. “I am like you see me on the Neighborhood.” Are we amazed that one man’s simple approach to life and serving others could make such a profound difference? Perhaps. But we shouldn’t be.

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I JUST WISH FRED HAD LIVED

a little while longer. Observing the way our towns and cities are struggling these days, the ‘neighborhood’ seems lonelier since he’s been gone. Maybe we should all sit down and watch a rerun or two. We could learn a great deal about caring if we did. I think a lot of us still wish we could hear someone say again, “I like you just the way you are.”

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Actually it’s easy … and it does make a difference when we do. It is true for me right now. “You made this day a really special day for me. Just by being yourself. There’s only one person in the world like you. And I happen to like you just the way you are.”

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May Jesus keep us close.