Mr. Rogers

     Ryland has somehow stumbled across Mr. Rogers Neighborhood and it is now his favorite show. This is amazing, seeing that there is no advertising for the show, it has no toys associated with it, and it has been off the air for almost twenty years. We first started watching Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood a couple of years ago when he was really little and I decided to let him watch Mr. Rogers and we didn't even get through the first five minutes before he said he didn't like it. Now, all three kids are come running to the TV when they hear the opening bars of "Won't You Be My Neighbor" on the piano. They sit and stare at the TV while Mr. Rogers and his fellow neighbors slowly meander through whatever activity it is that they are doing in that episode.

    I often watch Mr. Rogers with the kids when I put it on because I like the show as well. It's hard not to notice how slow the action (or lack thereof) the show goes though. Shows like Thomas the Tank Engine and other preschool shows have to speed up their pace and make it more action packed and colorful in order to keep kids' attention, but good ol' Mr. Rogers seems to keep my kids in a trance one slow quiet moment by one slow quiet moment. Watching him feed the fish or pour and then drink a glass a milk is as riveting as any new adventure they can throw at you on the Disney Channel.

     Another thing that you will notice is that most of the main characters are old. It's as if my kids are watching a play put on in a retirement community. Most everyone has gray hair, which is in stark contrast to the kids that are running around screaming on Nickelodeon in full force sensory overload. I find it refreshing that in an age where youth is supreme, Mr. Rogers and his gang of aging neighbors set an example of manners and respect that you won't see in many other shows. If you were to come to a TV executive and prepose a show where everyone is over the age of 50 and there will be light jazz music with singing and half of the show will have old ugly puppets the show would never get off the ground floor.

     We like to tell people that our kids, especially Ryland, love Mr. Rogers Neighborhood and they will just look at us like our kids are strange. Ryland has learned several of the songs and will sing them around the house, even changing his shoes and zipping up his jacket while singing like Mr. Rogers does. As a party trick, we will ask Ryland to sing a few songs and he will then sing to all of our friends and family that he would like them to be his neighbor.

     It's endearing to hear him sing the songs because, though it is not the norm for today's fast paced culture, we can remember a simpler time in our lives where we too sat and watched Mr. Rogers and sang some of the songs and believed that all adults were loving, caring, and respectful. I definitely remember Mr. Rogers feeding the fish and putting food in his 1950's refrigerator and all of that brings back fond memories of when I didn't have a care in the world and that the world around me was filled with people who only wanted to either help me or show me the cool things that they do for a living. It's a shame that real life is not like Mr. Rogers Neighborhood and we have to deal with evil people, vile politics, and a fast paced non-forgiving world. I strive to keep the innocence and the sense of wonder alive in my kids as long as possible and I'm glad that even more than ten years after his death, Mr. Rogers can still give that to our kids.

    Side note, Ryland says that when he gets to Heaven he will sing "Won't You Be Your Neighbor" to Mr. Rogers. That will be fun to see.