Mr. Rogers redux

my sweetheart reported that she’d watched ‘won’t you be my neighbor’ on a recent flight and had cried through most of it. she said, mr rogers reminds her of what our discourse so lacks today: kindness, humanity, generosity, inclusion.

and I remembered one of my voice comics. it was in ’83, and I’d visited a rough-hewn divorced friend and his little boy.

shortly after the strip appeared, the photo arrived. how unlikely that fred rogers would read my comic. how understandable that he’d see through the roughness to the guys’ heart. and how amazing that he’d take the time to sign a photo to me. it’s enough to bring tears to your eyes over what he stood for and what we desperately need back. (there’s schmutz under his nose and tack holes, he’d been on my bulletin board for a long time.)