Fred Rogers Dinosaur

I was going through some older shots, and I ran across this one. A number of cities across the country did this thing where each city had an animal, and artists from that city would decorate or paint them in different manners. Pittsburgh had dinosaurs, and this one was dedicated to Mister Rogers.

I have a book called Dear Mister Rogers, it's a collection of letters that children have written to him. Here's one that always chokes me up.

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.)

Mister Rogers made it a point to respond to all his letters, and in a personal manner. When he died, I was struck by how important that connection was to so many people; how one person could make such an impact, often through just a few words.

We need more people like him.