Likely one of your favorite neighbors

Today it's a beautiful day in my neighborhood!

Today is the anniversary of the first broadcast of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood on the National Education Television network in 1968, where it later moved to PBS when NET ceased broadcasting. The public television show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood aired from 1968 to 2000. Fred Rogers entertained and educated generations of kids with the Mister Rogers' Neighborhood program. Rogers composed over 200 songs including the classic It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. The set looked like his living room. He wore sneakers and a zip-up cardigan sweater. One of Rogers' sweaters now hangs in the Smithsonian Institute. The show covered a broad range of topics, including competition, divorce, war, peaceful ways of dealing with angry feelings, and even death. Mr Rogers inspired children to love themselves and to love others. You might remember the magical trolley ride into the Neighborhood of Make-Believe where his puppet creations would interact with each other and adults. There was also a broad range of special guests on the show too, ranging from the cellist Yo-Yo Ma to the bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno of The Incredible Hulk tv show. Bill Nye (the Science Guy), Captain Kangaroo, and Big Bird also appeared on the show. Rogers won four Emmy Awards, plus one for lifetime achievement. He died in 2003 at age 74 after a brief battle with stomach cancer.

Here are some memorable quotes by Fred Rogers:

• You know, you don't have to look like everybody else to be acceptable and to feel acceptable.
• I have a very modulated way of dealing with my anger. I have always tried to understand the other person and invariably I’ve discovered that somebody who rubs you the wrong way has been rubbed the wrong way many times.
• Call them rules or call them limits, good ones, I believe, have this in common: they serve reasonable purposes; they are practical and within a child's capability; they are consistent; and they are an expression of loving concern.
• What makes the difference between wishing and realizing our wishes? Lots of things, and it may take months or years for wish to come true, but it's far more likely to happen when you care so much about a wish that you'll do all you can to make it happen.
• Everybody longs to be loved. And the greatest thing we can do is let somebody know that they are loved and capable of loving.
• I have really never considered myself a TV star. I always thought I was a neighbor who just came in for a visit.

Here's a neat tribute video that you'll likely enjoy:

As posted on YouTube by HeWhoE

On a personal note, today I'm celebrating the move to a new neighborhood. The Wetpaint Crew like my Wild About Wikis site and asked me to partner with them in the development and management of the Everything Wiki site. So, we're collaborating -- in the wiki way! We have a much better URL there and will have the support of the Wetpaint Crew, along with more community members who are also interested in building THE BEST reference site on the Web about using wikis. All the great content from the Wild About Wikis site has already been moved to the new site. If you want to know more about how to use wikis to easily build content for the Web and to collaborate with others, visit us, in our new neighborhood at Everything Wiki. It's been an exciting move and we're looking forward to getting to know all our new neighbors and to make many new friends as well.

In honor of Mr Rogers today, I hope that you are loved and show someone that you love them. I hope that you realize all your wishes. Plus, I thank you for being my virtual neighbor -- thanks for dropping by and visiting my blog. Visit again and often. Join my community. Also, remember to drop by my new wiki neighborhood.

Reference: Wikipedia article on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
Image credit: Richter Strategic Communications