Remembering Mr. Rogers....and Johnny CashMar 20 '05 (Updated Mar 21 '05) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line It's good to remember...
Fred Rogers, beloved host of the incredibly long-running PBS show Mr. Rogers, passed away in February 2003. March 20th is his birthday, so today commemorates what would have been his 77th. Many people here in the Pittsburgh region and around the world will remember him today with extra special fondness. In honor of that event, and with gratitude for all that I learned from Fred Rogers, I decided to post a reflection that I wrote near the end of 2003. I've never posted or shared this publicly, but today it just feels right. It may seem a bit odd, but I offer it as a tribute to two very different men: both consummate artists in their very different ways, both people whose passion and commitment to others made the world a better place. I decided not to edit it further than I did in my original revisions, so as you read, please bear in mind that this was written in late 2003. ******* You are my friend and you’re special. Special/You are my friend and you’re special to me... I sing these words to my daughter almost every evening. They’re not perhaps a typical lullaby, but for me they capture the feelings of warmth and safety I used to feel when I heard the words sung by Fred Rogers on his television show many years ago when I was a girl. Like others, I grew up feeling like I knew Fred Rogers (or he knew me) and I mourned his passing this year on February 27. The world feels like a lonelier place without this caring neighbor. I keep a close watch on this heart of mine/I keep my eyes wide open all the time...because you’re mine/I walk the line... I admit I don’t sing these words as a lullaby, but I suspect that one day my daughter will come to know them, because both her Daddy and I love the mournful, honest and rollicking music of the late Johnny Cash. I came later to this appreciation than my husband, but come I did, and I mourned Cash’s passing this year on September 12. The world feels more out of tune without this sad troubadour of country music. We often take stock at the end of the year and remember those who have died, both those in our immediate circle of family and friends, and those who have touched the wider world and in the process touched our lives. The novelist John Irving once commented that the holidays are a time to look around and notice who isn’t home, and that’s true on a big scale as well as a small one. I admit I often look over end of the year obituaries to note the passing of people whose love and gifts enriched the world. But it’s rare that I find myself feeling the loss of "celebrities" as deeply as I do these two men. If on the surface they seem like a strange pairing, look again. For one thing, neither wore "celebrity" very easily. True, both were "stars" in their respective fields, Cash in the world of gospel and country music, and Rogers in the world of children’s television programming. Neither perhaps were the kinds of talent you might have expected to succeed, Cash with his worn, weary face and gravely voice, and Mr. Rogers with his gentle, quiet demeanor and his love of puppets. Let’s face it, there were more talented singers in the world than Cash, and more talented puppeteers than Rogers, but both were innovative pioneers, who brought integrity, care, and authenticity to almost everything they did. It was that authenticity that made each of them an unlikely kind of "superstar." Both of them were known for what they wore. The public knew Fred Rogers best in his simple colorful cardigans (all handmade by his mother) and his soft blue sneakers. He wore these things to set his very young television viewers at ease, so they would feel "at home" with him. Johnny Cash was always seen in black. He explained in a song why he wore this color: "I wear the black for the poor and beaten down / Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town / I wear it for the prisoner who's long paid for his crime / But who's there 'cause he's a victim of the times." In a sense, both men seemed to realize that the kind of world we lived in called them to clothe themselves not in what was popular or smart, but in what was real. Cash worked in a field that made stars much more than Mr. Roger’s world. He lived through years of brokenness, addiction and grief and yet he still maintained a down to earth quality in his lyrics and his life that spoke of grounding in something deeper. Mr. Rogers simply exuded a sanity and balance and peace that few of us ever reach, though my guess is that it was not as easy for him as it looked, and that like all of us, he lived through heartaches as well on the way to finding his own footing. Both Johnny Cash and Fred Rogers were grounded, grounded in lives of Christian faith and in the faithful love of their committed wives. They’re spoken of as legends and icons, and I like the second word best, because both of them seemed to open windows for us to see more clearly. The man in black and the man in the cardigan wore what they wore, said what they said, were who they were, on behalf of those who most need a voice, the downtrodden, the poor, and the children. In a year of war and many other griefs, it is good to remember them. It’s good to keep singing their songs. --Beth P., copyright 2003  |
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