In the midst of a horrific day yesterday, I started searching for some solace. You certainly couldn’t find that anywhere on the airwaves or cable channels.
I want to take this moment to offer my prayers for the good people of Boston and all those affected by yesterday’s tragedy. The bad news from yesterday was not only national but there were also personal stories of bad news as I learned of a couple friends and business colleagues who lost family members…not to terror but to illness. And many others I know are battling illness, disease, bad job situations and sadness in their own lives.
In short, Monday was NOT a good news day.
After finishing my prayers, my thoughts turned to simpler times – pre 9/11 times. My thoughts turned to childhood. I found myself missing Fred Rogers.
No matter what the crisis – whether it was about the first day of school or confronting a bully or dealing with the death of a pet, he always knew just the right things to say…even if it was just a simple message of love.
People my age grew up as the Mr. Rogers Neighborhood Show began. Every afternoon when you came home from school, Mr. Rogers was a constant presence. The show had a consistent format (no need to repeat it here as I’m sure we could all recite it together).
What I feel is worth mentioning is that Mr. Rogers’ messages of comfort and encouragement would be just as relevant today as it was in the 70s and 80s.
The fact that Mr. Rogers lived past the terror of 9/11 gives us some solace as he was able to offer his thoughts about how to talk to children about terrorism. As he did that, he also gave us parents some comfort. In fact, there was a nice quote from him circulating on Facebook in the aftermath of yesterday’s tragedy.
And now as we move forward in the post-9/11 era, his words are still very relevant as we deal with the horror of days like yesterday.
I’m fortunate in that my kids are mostly grown now and there isn’t any question about how to talk with them about news like that we received yesterday. With cellphones and twitter and the internet, I’m sure they (and their peers) learned the news before I did. I just happened to be driving around town in the course of my workday yesterday when I heard the breaking news over the radio.
I’m sure that, by then, they were well aware. It’s just a sad reality that they have grown up with the horror of terrorism in the world.
So, last night when we were all home, we focused on happy news…talk about topics ranging from weekend adventures that I wrote about yesterday to plans for the week to a recap of our school day and even Holly’s latest thoughts about “Dr. Who” and our excitement over the Braves’ great start to the 2013 MLB season.
But if we were talking to a first grader and fourth grader such as we were back in 2001, I suspect we might have drawn heavily on the wisdom of Mr. Rogers.
JG
Originally posted 4/16/2013
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