A visit with a 10-year old boy in a wheelchair is one of the series’ most treasured moments. Unscripted and unrehearsed, their conversation was intimate and honest, two people so different on the outside, talking and singing together.
I’d like you to know my television friend.
The guests Mister Rogers welcomed to his neighborhood helped children appreciate the hard work and self-discipline it takes to be able to do something well, and the value creative work brings to our lives.
As Fred Rogers wrote, “With our guest’s help, I have been able to show a wide diversity of self-expression, the extraordinary range of human potential. I want children and their families to know that there are many constructive ways to express who they are and how they feel.”
When Mister Rogers introduced us to his guests, he was opening the world to us – the world of possibilities of who we could become. He was exposing children to people they might never encounter in their lives – a rich variety of human creativity and achievements. Mister Rogers offered all that in the hopes that his young viewers would be inspired to find something like that in their own lives. And many did.
The thing I remember best about successful people I’ve met all through the years is their obvious delight in what they’re doing … and it seems to have very little to do with worldly success. They just love what they’re doing, and they love it in front of others.