Tim ‘Gonzo’ Gordon

When I grew up there was no TV. Not to mean TV didn’t exist, but there was literally no TV reception at our house, which was plopped in the middle of the Oregon Cascade Mountain Range on Santiam Pass. Santiam Lodge and the area had its share of wondrous things, but there was no TV. The only phone was a ‘mobile phone’ with which you contacted the mobile phone operator 40 miles away in Bend and told them the number you wanted to reach.

I always missed TV, because when I visited friends of relatives who had one, I could see what kinds of shows I missed. One show I missed while growing up was ‘Mister Rogers Neighborhood.’

But I did finally see the show through the years, and found out that living up in the woods at Santiam Lodge was oddly, a lot like living in Mister Rogers Neighborhood.

My dad was a Prsbyterian Minister, as was Mister Rogers. They were the same age (withn a few months). They both had that easy-going manner. They talked similarly, saying things like “God loves you just the way you are.” No, really.

I mean, I knew I grew up in idyllic childhood, with the whole of the Willamette National Forest as my backyard, but to have a dad who could easily compare to Mister Rogers, what more could a kid want? I think I was horrified by some of my friends parents who drank or smoke or swore (okay, perhaps secretly thrilled a bit), and lived a lifestyle that I simple could not relate to.

On The Best Article Every Day, there’s a great post about Mister Rogers. Read it and think back to an America where this kind of approach to life was actually praised, revered and recognized.