I love Mr. Rogers.

Today on FB someone posted a link to 6 things you might not know about Mr. Rogers.  I smiled, I knew 5 of them.  Why?  Because I love Mr. Rogers.  My most prized possession in the world is a signed copy of the Koko the Gorilla episode script.  He's my favorite person.  If I can look at my son one day and think "Mr. Rogers has taught you well." I will have done my job as a mother.

How did so many people screw up his message?  I grew up with Mr. Rogers.  I trusted him.  I waited for him.  No matter what happened in my life, I could count on him.  He was always there, every day at the same time, doing the same things.  He was a constant in a world that was not.  

I introduced my son to Mr. Rogers.  The best thing I could say to correct any misbehavior in my young child was "what would Mr. Rogers say if he could see you right now?"  This always brought him to near tears.  He could not stand the thought of disappointing Mr. Rogers.  I learned this the day after we watched the escalator episode and my 3 year old started walking up the down escalator.  All I had to say was "and after Mr. Rogers just told you not to do that."  He almost cried and begged me not to call Mr. Rogers and tell on him.  He never tried to walk the wrong way on an escalator again.  I'd forgotten this.  My son is now 17 and full of himself.  He knows everything.  If you don't believe me, just ask him, he'll tell you.

So today I go to the link, I read the stories, I smile.  I scroll down.  These are the captions I saw for the next "stories":  "The Most Glorious Breast  GIF's", "The Most Perfect Butt GIF of All Time", "Human Barbie Meets Her Match",  "Want a Bar Rafeali Sex Tape?" and more.  I was offended.  I was angry.  It was the perfect underline to what we have become.  I showed it to my husband, he was not happy.  I showed it to my son.  He was detached.  He began to explain why. How those sites don't go anywhere, it's a marketing thing, blah blah blah.  And so I said those words I have not said in years.  "What would Mr. Rogers say if he could see you now?".  My son put his head down and looked at his feet.  He was ashamed.  

Mr. Rogers is still the very best I can set up for my son.  For a moment he wanted, and tried, to tell me why those site links were ok.  And then he remembered, it's not.  What would Mr. Rogers say to see such a thing?  I'm sure I can't even begin to guess.  I'm sure he would find a way to make the site manager feel good about himself as a person.  I'm sure he would find a way to make me love the site manager. I'm sure I'm no Mr. Rogers, but I want to be.

I asked earlier how did we screw up his message.  So far there's no screw up in this blog.  I want to write about that, and I will.  Today, let me love Mr. Rogers.  Let me remember that man who was a constant.  Tomorrow we will talk about how nobody really listened to him.  But today, today, I love Mr. Rogers.  I hope you loved him.  I hope for a moment you remember him and want to be like him. I do.  Today I want us all to think about Mr. Rogers, what he meant to us, who he was, what we learned.  Today find a moment to bring out your Mr. Rogers.  Tomorrow, tomorrow we will talk about how he screwed you up and you didn't listen.  I can't include myself in this one, I can't say we.  I did hear him, I took his lesson to heart.  Tomorrow I'll tell what he said, what you heard, and maybe you'll realize you weren't listening.  Today, we love Mr. Rogers.  Tomorrow, maybe you'll listen.