We Were All His Neighbors
Growing up in Texas, you learn a phrase-a compliment-that is spoken at funerals that, as a man, you strive towards. It is, simply: “He had no dirt on his boots.”…
Portrait of American educator and television personality Fred Rogers (1928 – 2003) of the television series ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,’ circa 1980s. (Photo by PBS Television/Courtesy of Getty Images)
PBS Television/Courtesy of Getty ImagesGrowing up in Texas, you learn a phrase-a compliment-that is spoken at funerals that, as a man, you strive towards. It is, simply:
"He had no dirt on his boots."
By that, it is meant he lived a life that left no dust in his wake. He loved and was loved by all.
Latrobe, Pennsylvania appears to be a hotbed for such people. Arnold Palmer was from Latrobe. And there was another...
We were both born in 1969. In 1968, a ground-breaking television show came to PBS: "Mister Rogers Neighborhood." It ran until 2001 with original episodes, and in re-runs until 2007.
It's host, Fred Rogers, taught a lot of us to tie our shoes, that it was okay to cry, and that every one of us was special. One can make an argument that no one did more for, in a life dedicated to, children than Fred Rogers.
When he passed away in 2003, there was no dirt on his boots.
This summer, there is a documentary on his life and career entitled "Won't You Be My Neighbor" (the title of one of COUNTLESS original songs that Rogers wrote and sang regularly on his show) that I cannot wait to see and I can promise you will be an Oscar nominee next year.
