143, Mr. Rogers! Won’t You be my Neighbor?

Mr. Rogers was my safe space. He liked me just the way I was. He smiled when he came into the room. He had pets (his fish which he fed each episode). He sang and played music, and introduced us to jazz music. He knew chefs, mimes, police officers, postal workers, and even the actress that played the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton).

He asked questions and listened to people when they answered. He assured us that it was OK to be sad. It was even OK to be mad. He took us to see the way things were made- my favorite was the Crayola crayon factory.

In my world where mothers die, fathers work and are never home, housekeepers beat children, and it was safer to be silent and not noticed; Mr. Rogers told me that he would be back when the day was new, with more ideas and things to talk about.

Mr. Rogers showed me a world where kindness was something that could be trusted to continue each day.

He told me that I made things better and good by just being myself.

And in those 60’s and later 70’s (with my siblings) and then 80’s (with my children) I tried to believe that message. I tried to hold on to the self esteem I felt for those short minutes each day. I tried to feel that good feeling he sang about, and that reassurance that he would be back.

To this day fear of abandonment haunts me.

But I could always count on Mr. Rogers.

It's such a good feeling To know you're alive. It's such a happy feeling: You're growing inside. And when you wake up ready to say, I think I'll make a snappy new day!… Mr Rogers

I lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Much later I found out that Mr. Rogers lived there, too. Michael Keaton was from Pittsburgh, was part of the stage crew for the show, and also performed in some episodes. In high school I found out that a classmate, Walter, had been featured on an episode.

Within the past few years I learned that another classmate’s father was Mime Walker! I was fascinated when he was on the show, and that same gentle friendliness lives on in his daughter Jessie.

Leaving a legacy

Today, May 23, is the 143rd day of this year. In Pennsylvania it is also #143DayinPA and the start of a week of kindness. Why #143DayinPA? Because 143, to Mr. Rogers, stood for ‘I Love You’: 1 letter followed by 4 letters and the 3 letters.

He actually made it his mission to live the message and worked to maintain a weight of 143 pounds for the last 30 years of his life.

In 2019 the Pennsylvania Governor proclaimed March 23, the 143rd day (of non-Leap Year)the year to be the first statewide day of kindness in honor of the example given by Fred Rogers.

That has continued, and this year Pennsylvanians are going for a full week and hoping for a full year of kind acts.

Do something kind (need ideas? check out this random acts of kindness generator!)

Post on social media using #143DayinPA . want to stay anonymous? I understand: but find a way to make a post and use the tag so the encouraging message lets the folks in PA know that yinz* have that good feeling, too!

That is the legacy of Fred Rogers.

It can be your legacy, too.

*’yinz’ is Pittburgheese for ‘all of you’

~

I miss Pittsburgh so much that I wrote about one place you simply must visit when you are there:

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