Monday, August 28, 2006

Won't you be my neighbor?

Three days out of the week, in the morning, I watch my two neices while Susan goes to work. And every day at 11:00, we watch Mr. Roger's Neighborhood! Elizabeth really likes it and I have grown to like it and look forward to it every day. I know, I know, it's just a children's show, but I find myself wondering, "What are they going to do today on Mr. Roger's?" The show is usually split up into two segments. The first part is when you take a "field trip" to somewhere (the zoo, a dance studio, a school, a factory, etc.) and the second part of the show is the "land of make believe" where there are puppets and you learn some sort of life lesson ( a little corny - but I suppose we have to teach kids some sort of lesson).
My favorite part is when they visit different factories. It is so interesting to see how different things are made! I am the type of person who is always wondering how things were invented, made, or how things work. So far, on Mr. Roger's, I have seen them make crayons, marbles, rollerskates, Cheerios (I thought of my sis. Jenny the whole time), and graham crackers. Those are only the ones I can remember off the top of my head, but a few of the episodes I haven't seen, they go to factories that make violins, wheelchairs, balloons, teddy bears, etc. I watch how they make these things and I am always thinking, "So that's how they make it!" You usually don't think about how graham crackers are made, so it's pretty fun to see how it's done.
It's sad to think that Mr. Roger's has passed away now and that he won't be making anymore shows. At least they are still playing the old shows. It's also such a relaxing show. It isn't wild and crazy like all the present day cartoons or children's shows.

Here is a picture of Jordyn, Elizabeth, Katherine, and Evan.... from biggest to smallest.

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I looked up a few facts about Mr. Roger's and his show. Thought they were pretty interesting:

- 870 episodes of Mr. Roger's neighborhood have been produced. (20 down, only 850 to go!)

- During one year of Mr. Roger's show, the trolley travels about 5,000 miles.

- Michael Keaton (played Batman) once operated the trolley in the 70's when he was a production assistant for the company that produced the show.

- The cardigan sweaters he wore on the show were knitted by his mother.

- Mr. Roger's ACTUAL "neighbors" said this, "Settling down each afternoon to watch Mister Rogers' eponymous television show, my brother Peter and I would wait for him to ask his famous musical question, "Won't you be my neighbor?" and we would yell back at the set, laughing uproariously, "But we ARE your neighbors!"

- Mr. Roger's real neighbors said that he gave out whole candy bars on halloween.

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Susan said...

Mr. Rogers is so great, sometimes I think parents get as much (or more) out of his show!

We have a quote book of his and I love one of his quotes about parenting. "...life has meaning because we are needed by someone else."

Anonymous said...

Todd has always loved Mr. Rogers. When he was in high school, he went to Goodwill and bought some cardigan sweaters to wear.

Another show we watched when the kids were little was "Captain Kangaroo"--I really liked it and was sad when it went off the air. Maybe we adults still have a little "kid" in us!

Topher said...

I used to wear a dark teal cardigan that I had on my mission. I wore it around my apartment, and was wearing it the very moment Jenny knocked on my door the first day we met. She ALWAYS makes fun of it and is sure to include that detail whenever she tells someone about the "dork" she met. Joke's on her, though, because she's now Mrs. Dork.

I grew up on Mr. Rogers and Captain Kangaroo (he reminded me of my dad with his porkchop sideburns). Romper Room was another classic. I'd always listen to see if they "saw me" by saying "and I see Chris..."

Kid shows nowadays have nothing on the classics.

Jenny said...

I was curious if and when they played Mr. Rogers on our PBS channel. So I looked online. It's on at 5AM! What little kid is up at 5AM?? Maybe I should get up and workout to Mr. Rogers everyday for some entertainment. Not! I wish they would play Mr. Rogers in the afternoon instead of Teletubbies.