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Scott
Jr. in his conducting outfit, imitating one of his
favorites, Dennis Colwell, conductor of the
River City Brass Band.
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I note with great sadness
the passing of Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers) on February 27,
2003. I wish those of you who do not live
here in the city where he produced
Mr. Roger's Neighborhood could have seen the special
programs aired here that celebrated his life and special
gifts that he gave to us and our children.
I have never met Mr. Rogers
in person, so I do not have any special stories of that
nature. But here's why I know how special his
talent, and his program Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood is.
First, meet the "Scott"
behind Scott Ericson (at left). My son, Scott Jr.,
age 20 on the date of Mr. Rogers death, is mentally
handicapped, functioning mentally at about age 3 - 5.
Though Scott is not significantly physically disabled
and attends a special day school, he does suffer from
obsessive-compulsive disorders and other pervasive
developmental disorders.
Scott does have interests
in things, like playing on the computer or Nintendo (the
earlier, simpler games), riding his bike, watching music
videos with a conductor (like the Boston Pops, Lawrence
Welk, etc.), and watching certain types of movies.
Overall, though, Scott tires pretty easily and has a
very short attention span for most TV and movies.
Except for one show.
Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.
So this is my simple
tribute to Mr. Rogers. In all of these years of
having his show on for Scott and his younger brother
when they were much younger (12-18 years back now), I
never fully realized the magical reach of his
presentation and style until these latter years of
watching the effect of his program on Scott Jr. On
those weekdays or summer days when Scott is home from
school and generally getting restless and bored with
things, I can count on the 30 minutes that the Mr.
Rogers show comes on TV that he will be engaged and
engrossed in the program. This is the remarkable
part. Unlike anything else, Scott does not get up
and wander away from this program, ever! (ok, except for
nature's calls). No matter what the topic, or if
its a repeat of a show that he has seen, he is simply
captivated by the program from beginning to end.
When Sesame Street comes on after it, he is usually gone
in 2-5 minutes (sorry big bird!). And no, I don't
have to drag Scott into the room and put him in front of
the TV for Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. I just have to
turn the sound up enough for him to hear it - and as
soon as he hears the opening chords of Johnny Costa's
piano, he comes into the room, pulls a chair square in
front of the TV set and barely blinks for 30 minutes.
And so I myself have
again seen a lot of the special moments of the Mr.
Rogers series at these times, with tours of the Crayola
factory or Nabisco Cracker packaging line, or a guest
appearance by a larger than life star or personality
interrupting my concentration on the work that I was
trying to do here in the background, which all of a
sudden doesn't seem quite so "urgent" to get done right
at that moment. And I might comment to my wife
later that evening how Scott and I saw them making
Crayons on Mr. Rogers today, and she'll light up and say
"yeah I remember that one, and was always amazed at how
many people must be buying crayons that they make so
many at one time..." Sure beats dwelling on the
bad weather, bad traffic, or other hassles of the day.
So its not a spectacular
story about some chance meeting or other first hand
experience. Just a parent's observation of Mr.
Rogers' life's work on the type of child that our
culture, in general, doesn't pay much attention to -
except for a person named Mr. Rogers. He obviously
would have cared. Scott can tell that he did care.
Thank you Fred Rogers, I
hope Scott will meet you in Heaven. (both of us! :)
Scott Ericson
For more, please visit
Mr.
Roger's Neighborhood online
Some other tributes, News
Storeis or notes about Mr. Rogers
(these links posted March, 2003):
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