Excellent.

Excellent albums ...

... to prioritize victory over rather than coexistence with the communist threat.

Bedrock.

From Fred Rogers' 2002 commencement address at Darmouth College ...

I have a lot of framed things in my office, which people have given to me through the years. And on my walls are Greek, and Hebrew, and Russian, and Chinese. And beside my chair, is a French sentence from Saint-Exupery’s Little Prince. It reads, “L’essential est invisible pour les yeux.” What is essential is invisible to the eye. Well, what is essential about you? And who are those who have helped you become the person you are? Anyone who has ever graduated from a college, anyone who has ever been able to sustain a good work, has had at least one person, and often many, who have believed in him or her. We just don’t get to be competent human beings without a lot of different investments from others.

I’d like to give you all an invisible gift. A gift of a silent minute to think about those who have helped you become who you are today. Some of them may be here right now. Some may be far away. Some, like my astronomy professor, may even be in Heaven. But wherever they are, if they’ve loved you, and encouraged you, and wanted what was best in life for you, they’re right inside your self. And I feel that you deserve quiet time, on this special occasion, to devote some thought to them. So, let’s just take a minute, in honor of those that have cared about us all along the way. One silent minute.

Whomever you’ve been thinking about, imagine how grateful they must be, that during your silent times, you remember how important they are to you. It’s not the honors and the prizes, and the fancy outsides of life which ultimately nourish our souls. It’s the knowing that we can be trusted. That we never have to fear the truth. That the bedrock of our lives, from which we make our choices, is very good stuff.

Excellent.

An excellent book ...

Observations.

Back in Ohio ...

Noisy.

Quiet.

How many times have you noticed that it’s the little quiet moments in the midst of life that seem to give the rest extra-special meaning.

Fred Rogers

Happy Birthday, Rogers

Robert Rogers was born on this day in 1731.

ROGERS' STANDING ORDERS

• Don’t forget nothing.
• Have your musket clean as a whistle, hatchet scoured, sixty rounds powder and ball, and be ready to march at a minute’s warning.
• When you’re on the march, act the way you would if you was sneaking up on a deer. See the enemy first.
• Tell the truth about what you see and what you do. There is an army depending on us for correct information. You can lie all you please when you tell other folks about the Rangers, but don’t never lie to a Ranger or officer.
• Don’t never take a chance you don’t have to.
• When we’re on the march we march single file, far enough apart so one shot can’t go through two men.
• If we strike swamps, or soft ground, we spread out abreast, so it’s hard to track us.
• When we march, we keep moving till dark, so as to give the enemy the least possible chance at us.
• When we camp, half the party stays awake while the other half sleeps.
• If we take prisoners, we keep ’em separate till we have had time to examine them, so they can’t cook up a story between ’em.
• Don’t ever march home the same way. Take a different route so you won’t be ambushed.
• No matter whether we travel in big parties or little ones, each party has to keep a scout 20 yards ahead, 20 yards on each flank, and 20 yards in the rear so the main body can’t be surprised and wiped out.
• Every night you’ll be told where to meet if surrounded by a superior force.
• Don’t sit down to eat without posting sentries.
• Don’t sleep beyond dawn. Dawn’s when the French and Indians attack.
• Don’t cross a river by a regular ford.
• If somebody’s trailing you, make a circle, come back onto your own tracks, and ambush the folks that aim to ambush you.
• Don’t stand up when the enemy’s coming against you. Kneel down, lie down, hide behind a tree.
• Let the enemy come till he’s almost close enough to touch, then let him have it and jump out and finish him up with your hatchet.

A collection of four documentaries titled Frontier: Legends of the Old Northwest.  The espisodes ...

1. Robert Rogers
2. Pontiac's Rebellion
3. George Rogers Clark
4. Tecumseh

I was born at the wrong time.

Wonder.

I’m very concerned that our society is much more interested in information than wonder – in noise, rather than silence.

Fred Rogers

Mister Rogers from 1994 and 1997 ...

Silence.

Thanks to Freiherr von Naarenburg.

Excellent.

Excellent books ...

Explaining.

Rogers “was extraordinarily good at imagining where children’s minds might go,” writes King, explaining to them, for example, that an ophthalmologist could not look into his mind and see his thoughts. His care with language so amused and awed the show’s creative team that in 1977, Greenwald and writer Barry Head created an illustrated satirical manual called “Let’s Talk About Freddish.” Anyone who’s seen the documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? knows Rogers could take a good-natured joke at his expense, likely including the imaginative reconstruction of his methods below.

1. “State the idea you wish to express as clearly as possible, and in terms preschoolers can understand.” Example: It is dangerous to play in the street.
2. “Rephrase in a positive manner,” as in It is good to play where it is safe.
3. “Rephrase the idea, bearing in mind that preschoolers cannot yet make subtle distinctions and need to be redirected to authorities they trust.” As in, “Ask your parents where it is safe to play.”
4. “Rephrase your idea to eliminate all elements that could be considered prescriptive, directive, or instructive.” In the example, that’d mean getting rid of “ask”: Your parents will tell you where it is safe to play.
5. “Rephrase any element that suggests certainty.” That’d be “will”: Your parents can tell you where it is safe to play.
6. “Rephrase your idea to eliminate any element that may not apply to all children.” Not all children know their parents, so: Your favorite grown-ups can tell you where it is safe to play.
7. “Add a simple motivational idea that gives preschoolers a reason to follow your advice.” Perhaps: Your favorite grown-ups can tell you where it is safe to play. It is good to listen to them.
8. “Rephrase your new statement, repeating the first step.” “Good” represents a value judgment, so: Your favorite grown-ups can tell you where it is safe to play. It is important to try to listen to them.
9. “Rephrase your idea a final time, relating it to some phase of development a preschooler can understand.” Maybe: Your favorite grown-ups can tell you where it is safe to play. It is important to try to listen to them, and listening is an important part of growing.

CONNECT

Authentic.

If your project needed $20 million in funding and you had to send someone to appear before the US Senate to get it, would you choose Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer or the beloved children’s television show host Fred “Mr.” Rogers? I imagine most people would choose Ballmer for his energy, experience closing big deals, and, more importantly, his aggressive go-getter style. Mr. Rogers, on the other hand, was mild-mannered, talked slowly, and the epitome of the nice-guy approach. It’s easy to think his gift was communicating with children, not adults. It’s easy to assume he had no place in the world of money, power, and influence. It’s easy to be mistaken. In 1969, Fred Rogers addressed the Senate for a mere six minutes and ensured $20 million in funding for PBS. How’d he do it? With authenticity and emotional intelligence.

Anyone who is authentic and emotionally intelligent can use this to have great influence over others. When used to influence others, emotional intelligence requires knowing your strengths and your present emotional state (self-awareness); knowing how to manage the moment you are in (self-management); knowing what’s important to your audience and how they’ll perceive your message (social awareness); and knowing how to forge a connection with decision makers (relationship management). These skills can be developed individually through simple practice.

On the 1st of May in 1969, Mr. Rogers addressed the Senate to argue that $20 million in funding for PBS should not be cut. John Pastore, the Senator from Rhode Island who led the hearing, had never seen nor hear of Mr. Rogers’ television show. It took Mr. Rogers just six minutes to convince the gruff and impatient Senator from Rhode Island that the $20 million was well worth it.

CONNECT

Give.

Love isn't a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like struggle. To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.  If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.  Mutual caring relationships require kindness and patience, tolerance, optimism, joy in the other's achievements, confidence in oneself, and the ability to give without undue thought of gain.

Fred Rogers

The trailer for the upcoming Fred Rogers movie, Won't You Be My Neighbor ...

Talents.

Well, God give them wisdom that have it; and those that are fools, let them use their talents.

William Shakespeare, from Twelfth Night

Wonder.

I am very grateful to the people who have allowed me to have some silence. I don't think we give that gift very much anymore. I'm very concerned that our society is much more interested in information, than wonder; in noise, rather than silence. How do we do that? How do we encourage reflection? Oh my, this is a noisy world.

Fred Rogers