A delicious concoction of tasty morsels of thought, epiphany and general anger management

 
A Time To Laugh, A Time To Cry

The coming week will be a difficult one. For next week, I was to have celebrated, along with millions of others, the birthday of a dear friend who passed away some weeks ago. I am to spend the weekend sadder than that slack-jawed idiot Gary Busey in a women's prison with a fistful of pardons. I mean no offense to Gary Busey. Gary Busey is a dear friend of mine. When Gary Busey came to your door with four grams of peyote and some Bartles and Jaymes, you knew that there was good times ahead. Often times, we'd smoke peyote and then wind up in the parking lot of the Circle K some six months later. It would only be through newspaper clippings that my ex-wife Diane Lane would save that we would come to discover that our adventure included a nude romp through "Six Flags Wild America", hitting the jackpot on the Wheel of Fortune slot machine at Caesar's Palace Las Vegas, arguing fervently against the death penalty on This Week With David Brinkley, arguing fervently for the death penalty on Meet The Press and a shotgun (later annulled) dual wedding with Cindy Williams and Penny Marshall. I digress.

My dear friend Fred Rogers, known to legions of children as Mr. Rogers, passed away recently. It was to be his 75th birthday on March 20th. His death touched me in a deep and profound way. The vagaries of my life seem insignificant in the wake of his passing. He was a truly special and meaningful part of my life. Here now, the eulogy that I read at his funeral:

We deeply mourn the passing for Fred Rogers today at the age of 74. He spent his entire adult life bringing joy in to the hearts of youngsters nationwide with his show, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. His messages were presented clearly to young people in his easy laid back manner. To commemorate his life, I present one of the many original songs that Rogers produced in the nearly 35 years that he presented his show on public television.

There Are Many Ways To Say I Love You

There are many ways to say I love you
There are many ways to say I care about you
Many ways, many ways
Many ways to say I love you

There’s the singing way to say I love you
There’s the singing something someone really likes to hear
The singing way, the singing way
The singing way to say I love you

Cleaning up a room can say I love you
Hanging up a coat before you’re asked to
Drawing special pictures for the holidays
And making plays

You’ll find so many ways to say I love you
You’ll find so many ways to understand what love is
Many ways, many ways
Many ways to say I love you

Singing, cleaning, drawing, being understanding
Love you

© 1970 Fred M. Rogers

Mr. Rogers let us remember that things were simpler once. They can be simple again. There are so many ways to say I love you, Mr. Rogers. I hope this does the trick.

posted by G.Wo at 1:31 PM