Remembering Mister Rogers, My Favorite Neighbor Ever

Most people have certain celebrities who they admire for one reason or another. These celebs often become much more to us than just faces we frequently see on our tv, movie, and computer screens. They sometimes become role models or heroes to us.

I would think this is especially true for children. When I think back on my childhood in the 1970s and 1980s, I can instantly think of several famous people I looked up to in the ways I described above. Musicians like The Beatles, athletes like Muhammed Ali, television stars like Leonard Nimoy and John Ritter, movie stars like John Belushi and Richard Pryor. These people weren’t some strangers I listened to on the radio or watched on tv. I felt like they were my friends.

Most of the ones I mentioned above are gone now. I can still clearly recall shedding some tears when I learned of the deaths of Ali, Belushi, Nimoy, and Ritter. It was sad to know that these people who had brought me so much happiness were now gone from my world. Unfortunately, they’re not the only famous people I could name here. As time passes, I lose more and more of my childhood heroes.

We all do. It’s a difficult thing. Still, while the deaths of these people make us feel sad, it’s usually a temporary thing. Usually, we move on fairly quickly.

Usually. But not always.

Fred Rogers passed away at the age of 74 in February of 2003. At that time I was 37 years old. Like a lot of people my age, I had grown up watching the television series Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. I’d sit there every morning and be glued to my tv set when it came on. I was always excited when Mister Rogers would walk into his living room singing “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” I’d listen intently as he taught me lessons about life. I’d believe him when he said I could do anything as long as I believed in myself.

I also enjoyed singing along with the songs that Mister Rogers wrote for the show. While researching this article, I discovered that Fred Rogers viewed himself primarily as a songwriter. In the many years that Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood was on television, he wrote hundreds of songs for it. One of my favorites was called “It’s You I Like,” which Mister Rogers performed regularly on the show up until it ended in 2001. He debuted it in 1971 when I was 5 years old.

I’d sit on the floor right in front of my tv set and look at Mister Rogers as he sang it to me. I’d sing the lyrics right back to him.

“It’s You I Like”

Written by Fred M. Rogers

It’s you I like, It’s not the things you wear, It’s not the way you do your hair But it’s you I like The way you are right now, The way down deep inside you Not the things that hide you, Not your toys They’re just beside you.

But it’s you I like Every part of you. Your skin, your eyes, your feelings Whether old or new. I hope that you’ll remember Even when you’re feeling blue That it’s you I like, It’s you yourself It’s you. It’s you I like.

I was a faithful viewer of the show for at least a few more years, although I can’t recall when I stopped watching it regularly. Was it around the same time that I stopped believing in The Easter Bunny and Santa Claus? Probably, but I’m not sure.

Regardless, I moved on. I thought of Mister Rogers less and less as I made my way into my teens, my 20s, and my 30s. Still, I never lost respect for him. Whenever some comedian or tv show would make fun of Mister Rogers, I never thought it was very funny. I’d find myself getting angry about it. I mean, how dare they. You can’t make fun of Mister Rogers!

Over the years, I’d occasionally stumble upon his show or see Mister Rogers on television receiving some sort of award or something like that. Whenever I did, I suddenly felt happy. He may not have been a big part of my current grown-up life, but he was still a huge part of my past. He was my old friend and it was good to see him again.

When I heard that Mister Rogers died, I felt like someone punched me in the stomach. This couldn’t be real, could it? Could the news reports somehow be wrong? “Rogers” is a common name. Maybe they just got him confused with someone else who had died. Mister Rogers couldn’t be dead.

But it was real, of course. I can’t exactly remember who I was with when I heard the sad news, but I do remember needing to get away from them. I told them that I had to be somewhere else and then I walked away from them and got into my car. I sat in the driver’s seat and cried. Then I started to cry even harder. Mister Rogers’ songs started playing in my head. I sat there remembering the openings and closing to his shows when he would put on and take off his sweater and sneakers as he sang.

A few minutes earlier, it had felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. Now it also felt liked they’d punched me in other parts of me too. Especially my heart. It was hurting badly. Very badly.

Mister Rogers was in the news a lot in the coming days and I quickly saw that I was far from alone in feeling sad about his passing. I saw many politicians and celebrities talking on television about how important Mister Rogers had been to them personally and what a positive impact he’d had on children all over the world.

I’d watch these tributes and get sad all over again. While it was wonderful to see many people saying great things about Mister Rogers, it didn’t make me feel much better.

I cried multiple times during those first days after he died. Initially, I was a bit surprised by how I was reacting to Mister Rogers’ death. No other celebrity’s death had ever hit me with this kind of intensity. Why was I feeling this way now? Was something wrong with me? Why should I be sobbing over some guy who performed on some old tv show?

Ah.

That was it right there.

Mister Rogers had never been just some guy who performed on a tv show. After he passed, I saw or read multiple interviews with people who knew Mister Rogers personally. By all accounts, the Fred Rogers that we all watched on television was just like the Fred Rogers who lived in the real world. He wasn’t an actor on his tv show. He wasn’t just pretending when he taught us, sang to us, and told us stories.

And I think most of us already felt that. That’s why he touched us the way he did. Everything he said to me, everything he said to children of all ages — every bit of it was real.

That’s why I cried so much. And I’m sure many other people were reacting the same way for the same reason. When Mister Rogers died, we didn’t just lose a fictional friend on television. We lost our real friend.

Mister Rogers wanted us to learn. He wanted us to be happy. He wanted us to know that we didn’t need to change for anyone else, including him.

He liked us, just the way we were.

I liked you the way you were too, Mister Rogers. You were a great role model. I’m very fortunate to have been told by some people over the years that they feel that I am a kind person. If that is true, I am positive that a large part of it is because of the influence you had on me as a child. The influence you still have on me as an adult.

You were the epitome of kindness, Mister Rogers. I wish there were more people in the world like you. I still get sad sometimes when I think that you’re no longer here, but then I stop and remember something very important. Death doesn’t separate us. You’re alive in my heart and I’m going to be carrying you with me for the rest of my life. And there is one thing that will never change.

It will always be you I like.

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