Seaside Mining

I have a sincere affection and admiration for Fred Rogers. He’s one of my Saints of the Seventies—a prominent figure from my childhood.

For the moment I just want to focus on Fred’s style. You could say that his outfit on his show was a costume or a uniform, but certainly they were personal choices he made. The impression left on me from childhood and lasts to this day is that he looks like a true gentle man. He dressed like a grown-up—comfortable and casual while looking respectable with just a hint of authority. Shirt & tie, sweater, slacks and Keds sneakers. This is a style that I realize I subconsciously have always aspired to.

Yesterday Alain de Botton posted to Twitter: “Giving you a sense of how deeply special you are is a job your parents should have done; don’t go mad asking the world to do it.”

One of Fred Rogers’ primary messages to children was that they should know they are special. Evidence is all over the social internet that children and adults [children of all ages] are indeed going mad trying to assert and hoping to validate that they are special.