This is Mister Rogers' neighborhood, we just live in it
by Maggie Downs posted in Life
Once a week, my family walks to our neighborhood taco shop. The people who work there know us by name and spoil my 3-year-old child with warm corn tortillas and hugs.
This week we left the shop and began the dark, winter walk home when I noticed a man following us. He appeared large enough that I reached for my son?s hand and yanked him close. We stopped on the corner, waiting for the traffic light to change, as the figure approached.
Once he was near, the man didn?t set off my spidey senses, so I relaxed my grip. He carried a plastic bag of beer and snacks from a nearby bodega, and he seemed to be walking home, just like us.
The street signed flashed the walk signal. The moment the man stepped off the curb, my son yelled, ?Stop! You need a hand to cross the street.? My child reached for the man and took the large, calloused hand in his tiny one. He held it across all four lanes, until they reached the other side.
At that point, we walked together and chatted. Turns out the man lives nearby. When he ducked inside his building, he did so with a smile and a wave. I don?t know if we made his night, but he sure made ours.
Today I heard that Mister Rogers? Neighborhood turned 50 years old, first airing Feb. 19, 1968 on PBS. As public television's longest running show, it tackled difficult topics like divorce, war, grief, and anger, gently helping children through tough times for nearly 33 years (and even longer in reruns).
The news made...
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