I like you too, Fred

I knew that I was treading in soul mate country when my boyfriend gave me Tim Madigan's book I'm Proud of You: My Friendship with Fred Rogers for my birthday last year. Although I was a little older when public television introduced the afternoon children's staples of Sesame Street and Mister Rogers, I got my chance to know both Big Bird and Fred via my daughter Sarah in the eighties. One of my favorite magazine cartoons ever showed an aproned mother kneeling at the television while Mr. Rogers repeated his familiar words: "I like you just the way you are". The housewife reaches out to the screen and confesses passionately, " I like you too, Fred". I grokked that one. Sometimes, no one but Fred seemed to understand.

It's taken me months to finish this slender book. It's an unintentional tearjerker for those of us who still sometimes reside in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. I'm going to finish it today, but have extra Kleenex handy for the task.

NTD