So being stuck at home, my family, despite all of our good intent has abandoned many of our self improvement plans for the allure of binge streaming movies and shows. I think if the Internet went down right now, all of America would literally freak out. As for now, we have a giant pacifier in our mouths and we are sucking hard. One of the shows we watched “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”. This was a movie that was about Fred Rogers, Mr. Rogers to most of you that are old enough to remember him.
The movie is actually not about Fred Rogers, it is about an article written about him in Esquire magazine in 1998. The article is by Tom Junod, titled “Can You Say…Hero?” You should read it. Link Here. Anyway, the movie has a surprising format that drives the message behind this article in a very personal way. One moment in the movie is very uncomfortable. Tom Hanks asks the actor playing Tom Junod to stop for a minute and think about all the people that brought him into this world. In a moment that I have never seen in cinematography there is a long silence for a minute. Have you ever watched a movie where there was no sound for a minute? Anyway, not only do the actors get quiet, but the whole restaurant does as well. Everyone pauses. The camera looks right into Tom Hanks’s (Mr. Rogers) eyes. The suggestion is this….you should be taking this minute to think about who brought you up into this world as well. Think about who you are grateful for. After 30 or 40 seconds, I realized that this was an audience participation moment. I thought about my mother, my father, my aunt Kathy, my great grandparents, a few teachers, an old man who gave me a hug one day, an old lady that taught me how to pray, another one that taught me how to use chopsticks. That was a strange thought. Anyway, I was just starting to think of some friends when the sound came back into the show and the dialog went back to normal course.
Mr. Rogers, as it seems, was a man that set as a goal to help other people. He was not good at it either. He made it his life’s practice. He worked hard on it. If he came across the path of someone that needed help, he gave them his undivided attention. Everyone who knew the man, felt like they were the most important person in his life. You knew when that man went to bed that night, before he went to sleep he would be on his knees praying for you. This was not platitude, this was real. He came across children, had his own, recognized their emotional challenges. He understood that they had a perspective and he talked directly to them, in terms they could understand an in a way they could comprehend. After reading this article, I have realized that Fred Rogers is one of those people that transcended human frailty and truly realized his potential for helping others. For inspiration this morning I turned to his music. He composed and wrote the lyrics for hundreds and hundreds of songs.
Many of them are incredibly simple. Like, “You’re a Fine Cow” Lyrics go like this:
You’re a fine cow
You’re a very fine cow
You’re a very very fine cow
You’re a very very very fine cow
Many of them are complex, with intricate meaning and philosophical undertone that takes a while to sink in. Like, “Sometimes I wonder If I’m a Mistake.” Lyrics:
[Daniel Striped Tiger]
Sometimes I wonder if I’m a mistake
I’m not like anyone else I know
When I’m asleep or even awake
Sometimes I get to dreaming that I’m just a fake
I’m not like anyone else
Others I know are big and are wild
I’m very small and quite tame
Most of the time I’m weak and I’m mild
Do you suppose that’s a shame
Often I wonder if I’m a mistake
I’m not supposed to be scared am I
Sometimes I cry and sometimes I shake
Wondering isn’t it true that the strong never break
I’m not like anyone else I know
I’m not like anyone else
[Lady Aberlin]
I think you are just fine as you are
I really must tell you
I do like the person that you are becoming
When you are sleeping
When you are waking
You are my friend
It’s really true
I like you
Crying or shaking or dreaming or breaking
There’s no one mistaking it
You’re my best friend
I think you are just fine as you are
I really must tell you
I do like the person that you are becoming
When you are sleeping
When you are waking
You’re not a fake
You’re no mistake
You are my friend
Almost all of them are motivational in a happy, glad to be on this Earth sort of way. Like, “Perfect Day.” Lyrics:
This day has really been unique
The wind and trees played hide and seek
The sun and clouds danced cheek to cheek
It’s been a perfect day
This day has really been so good
The sunshine shone just where it should
We all feel fine, let’s knock on wood
It’s been a perfect day
Just ask the trees
Sheer perfection
Ask the breeze
No objection
Ask the bees
Near confection
Sheer perfection, no objection, near confection WOW
This day has really been the best
It certainly passed every test
From north to south and east to west
It’s been a perfect day
It’s been a good day for a flower
It’s been a good day for a tree
It’s been a good day for a mushroom or a toadstool
It’s been a good day for me
This day has really been quite nice
The temperature took our advice
If you don’t mind we’ll say it twice
It’s been a positively absolutely perfect day
Above all, the songs are about how you are awesome, special, capable of doing anything. There is an ethic behind the music that reminds you of your childhood dreams and that you can achieve them but it will take grit and hard work. Despite all the troubles in the world, we would be reminded by Fred Rogers that today is always special. The lyrics of his song “I Think I’m Going to Like Today” really caught my attention:
I think I’m going to like today
I think I’ll call it fine
I’ll wrap it in ribbons
And make it mine
I think I’m going to like today
It’s very plain to see
I like every minute
And it likes me
This is the nicest day in the neighborhood
The nicest day in the calendar
The nicest day in the hemisphere
For me
I think I’m going to like today
It’s been the best by far
I got it by wishing
On last night’s star
I think I’m going to like today
And when today is through
I’ll catch it and keep it
As good as new
There it will be
I’ll have the nicest day in the neighborhood
The nicest day in the calendar
The nicest day will just stay at home with me
I think I’m going to like today
If you would like to browse your own inspiration, look up http://www.neighborhoodarchive.com/ and click on the music section.
Guy Reams
