March 20, 2013

Someone Wonderful: It's Mr Rogers' 85th Birthday

As Miss Cellania @ Neatorama notes

If TV host Fred Rogers hadn't died ten years ago, he would have been 85 today. In honor of the occasion, mental_floss presents 35 Facts About Mr. Fred Rogers. I honestly did not think I could sit through so many facts, because a) I never watched the show and b) I've read lists of facts about him many times. However, this is full of stories about Mr. Rogers that you probably haven't heard before.

As for myself, I'm praying that this will make God forgive me for the video just below this one, but as Mr. Rogers always said, "God loves you just the way you are."

Posted by gerardvanderleun at March 20, 2013 7:53 PM
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Fact (or would be if I could remember the details anymore): When I lived in Philly, a guy I worked with at the department store I worked at had a friend from some part of the world who had his visa sponsored by Mr Rogers and/or lived at his house when he first came to the US cuz that was another thing Mr Rogers did: Help complete strangers come to 'Murica.

Posted by: ninme at March 20, 2013 8:41 PM

You're right, 35 seconds of that was more than I ever wanted to know.

Posted by: Vermont Woodchuck at March 21, 2013 2:44 AM

Short version: He was a genuinely nice guy.

I was an acquaintance (volunteered at KQED for awhile) and he was pleasantly insistent about exactly how he wanted things done. Never raised his voice, but always managed to get what he wanted.

Posted by: bud at March 21, 2013 11:16 AM

My son was about 5 when he wanted to go to meet Mr. Rogers. I sent him a letter (from Saudi Arabia where we lived), and received in a few weeks, a large envelope with a letter written absolutely by him, and it had a big fold-out trolley in it for my son to put on his wall. There was more stuff in the envelope, too, but he said his family always took their vacation when we were planning to be in town, so he sent his regrets that he would not be able to meet us.

I keep that letter in my file of precious, never-to-lose papers.

Posted by: MathMom at March 21, 2013 11:55 AM