’Bye, the neighborhood won’t be the same
The Collegian Opinion

    It’s a gloomy day in the neighborhood.

    Fred Rogers announced his retirement after more than 30 years of supplying us with peace, calm, safety and information that every kid and adult needed to know.

    Rogers opened the door each day on our local PBS station and sang about “a beautiful day in the neighborhood.”

    Regardless of the turmoil in the world, every day was beautiful to Mr. Rogers, and he talked us through his lessons with the aplomb of a kiddy psych.

    More importantly, he made us believe we were all beautiful to him.

    As he donned his cardigan sweater and slipped on his canvas shoes, he embarked on his platitudes: “We all long to be lovable and capable of loving.”

    Often parents did not understand his draw, his charisma. “What is it this guy has?” parents would ask. Children never had a problem understanding or “getting” Mr. Rogers. They understood he was a friend, a companion and most of all an overall nice and good guy.

    But Rogers never let up on us kids. He always warned us about the bad outside of our doors. He always told us to look both ways when crossing the street and never to talk to strangers.

    With all of the violence in the world, Rogers would calm our fears and explain what was happening.

    He used his puppets to show us about feelings and love and caring. He explained death in a way we could understand.

    When his pet goldfish died, he talked to us about loss and sadness. It was normal for us to feel sadness at the death of someone we loved, he said.

    Rogers was born Fred McFeely Rogers March 20, 1928, in Latrobe, Penn., a state where he has lived most of his 73 years. A pianist, he majored in music composition at Rollins College in Florida. After graduation, he became interested in television and began working in the medium.

    “I got into television because I hated it so,” Rogers said in an interview with CNN. “I thought there’s some way of using this fabulous instrument to nurture those who would watch and listen.”
    And watch and listen we did.

    This man cannot sing, nor act, nor puppeteer with much grace. But his talent lies in his believability, his trustworthiness, his grace.   

In 1954 Rogers began working in educational television at Pittsburgh’s WQED on The Children’s Corner, the predecessor to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which began airing in 1969.

    Rogers did not luck into his success. He took courses in child development and in 1962 became an ordained minister. Yet he had a non-denominational approach to his lessons on God and spirituality.

    We all remember the jokes about Mr. Rogers, especially the funny parody Eddie Murphy performed on Saturday Night Live. Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood was funny, even hysterical. But the comedy never would have worked without the sincerity of the real Mr. Rogers.

    Rogers’ whole career can be exemplified in what he did when accepting an Emmy in 1998 for his Lifetime Achievement.

    He said, “All of us have special ones who have loved us into being. Would you just take, along with me, 10 seconds to think of the people who have helped you become who you are? Ten seconds of silence. I’ll watch the time.”

    Fred Rogers helped us all become who we are.

    Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood will be in reruns for a year, so our children will have his valuable lessons for a while.

    And then, our neighborhood and our children will lose their best friend.