I saw this when I was 5, and his words gave me strength as a Trans kid. Through Conversion Therapy, all manner of abuse and attempts to make me lose sight of who I am, Fred Rogers' words always echoed in my mind. I am always me, no matter what someone else dresses me like.
Just as important a lesson today, I think.
He mainly sees Big Bird and he brings up Mr. Snuffle Upaguss with Mr. Rogers and he believes Big Bird that he's real.
Many who grew up on both shows in the 70's and 80's might remember for years the grown-ups didn't believe BB that Snuffy was real and while it had its humorous moments' I felt it was pretty sad that this kept happening. It was just pointless and BB suffered too many years of the adults refusing to believe BB.
I often wondered what Mr. Rogers felt about it?
When I was in school, probably 1st or 2nd grade, Mr. Rogers came to my school, The Pennsylvania School for the Deaf that had previously sat at Mount Airy, PA. He was there to record some footage for his show, presumably, and I swear to God, he sat me on his lap on a stage crowded with other kids. At the conclusion, we all waved the 'I love you' sign at the camera.
I've been on the hunt for this off and on over the years with no success. If I had to guess, it probably aired in 1982 or 1983, or it's possible it never aired at all (but I'm pretty sure my mother recorded it on an ancient VHS player which has been since lost to time).
Is there any way I can hunt down this footage? It's a treasured memory of mine and would dearly love to show my wife and kids how lucky I was to have to met this man in my life, fleeting as it was.
Thanks so much in advance!