Mr. Rogers had gathered a lot of fans across North America ever since his children’s program debuted in the U.S. in 1968 that inspired kids and to be more thoughtful, kinder neighbors.
In celebration of the series and its kindhearted lead, The Fred Rogers Company and fans have shared the ways in which Fred Rogers, who died in 2003, changed their lives for the better — from assuring kids that their differences are OK to reminding viewers to “look for the helpers” in times of crisis.
And one of his fans that still felt the feels on the show’s anniversary was model, author, and Twitter goddess Chrissy Teigen.
Mister Rogers would narrate himself feeding the fish each episode with “I’m feeding the fish” because of a letter he received from a young blind girl who was worried the fish were hungry. Love you, Mister Rogers. https://t.co/YXacyFDXKo
— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) February 20, 2018
She wrote on her Twitter post:
“Mister Rogers would narrate himself feeding the fish each episode with, ‘I’m feeding the fish,’ because of a letter he received from a young blind girl who was worried the fish were hungry, Love you, Mister Rogers.”
Rogers included the text of the girl’s letter in his book, “Dear Mister Rogers, Does It Ever Rain in Your Neighborhood?” published in 1996.
As he noted in the book (emphasis added): One girl and her family wrote to tell us there was a special reason why she wanted me to talk about feeding the fish each day.
Dear Mister Rogers,
Please say when you are feeding your fish because I worry about them. I can’t see if you are feeding them, so please say you are feeding them out loud.
Katie, age 5 (Father’s note: Katie is blind, and she does cry if you don’t say that you have fed the fish.)
Watch it here: Swift Fox Media/Youtube
In the video above Sylvia Earle brought her underwater microphone to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood so children could listen to the fish in the aquarium. When the fish don’t make…
“I need to feed the fish right away,” Rogers said in the episode, before shaking the container of food above the tank. “I have some friends who get very concerned when I forget the fish during our visits.”
“I just wanted you to know that even if I forget to feed them when we’re together, I come back later and feed them, so they’re always taken care of,” Rogers concluded. “It’s good to know that fish and animals and children are taken care of by those who can, isn’t it?”
We need more like you in this world!
Thomas Cooper