heros move mountains

"There is a child in me still... and sometimes not so still."
-Mister Rogers
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I have always loved Mister Rogers. I did not, however enjoy watching his show as a child. It was slow, and rather boring. But I really think what he represented and what he was able to do for the development of children's television is amazing. I wrote my senior thesis paper on his effect on public/children's television. Mister Rogers followed acts like Captain Kangaroo and competed with flashy, low content shows like Seseme Street, but he pushed it to a new level. He taught serious life lessons in every show, wrote all of his own songs, and truly cared about the development of the next generation. When funding for public television was on the chopping block, it was Mr. Rogers that saved it by proving its ability to teach valuable lessons to kids. He convinced the board by telling them the lyrics of one of his songs. Its really cool to see, and the video is on youtube. Look it up. That being said, he was SO underappreciated. His show maintained its slow 70's pacing, while other children's shows changed to fast cuts, bright colors, and puppets. But all those other shows owe their success to him. I may not have watched his show often as a child, but there are so few people creating real, life affirming, developing children's shows these days. The days of Cpt Kangaroo and Mr. Rogers are dying out. And the day Mister Rogers died, was a really really sad day. Rest in peace.

I talk about Mister Rogers not only because I was looking for quotes in one of his books (he has a few books that are just quotes of his- published after his death), but because I think it is important to have heros in your life. Heros like Mr. Rogers, who moved mountains.

I guess the real reason I was looking through the book was because it reminds me of love. and virtue. and what should really comprise a person's moral foundation. Not to say I was questioning my own foundations, but this week certainly has been a reminder that we are all on a quest to find love, and we may not always be looking in the right place. Not to say that there is a "right place" to look for it. I don't think we could ever know that. Love finds us, despite our looking. And saying that, just reminds me of my post a while ago about complicated love. So many opportunities for potential love, and the connection happens exactly where it makes the least sense. But that's a whole other thing that I am not going to jump back into.

Of course, I have a monologue to go memorize... so I'll leave it here. Mr. Rogers. Virtue. Love. Rest in peace. End.