Fun fact #1: I still cannot write the word “Friend” without singing this song to myself.
Fun fact #2: In the late 60s/early 70s, my father worked for the public television station WQED, where he was Production Manager and Lighting Director for Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (among other shows). That porch swing? I sat on it. Those fish? I fed them. I rang the bell at Lady Elaine Fairchild’s museum, swung the pendulum on Daniel Stripèd Tiger’s grandmother clock. I snuck behind the tree where X the Owl and Henrietta Pussycat lived. And, like most of the other kids watching the show, when Mister Rogers sang, “You are Special,” I truly believed he was singing it right to me.
What? You got to play in Mr. Roger’s neighborhood? So. Envious.
He had ducklings on the show once, and we got to take them home. Also… I got yelled at when I touched the puppets one time. Also, I learned the hard truth about the reality (or not) of television when I discovered that Trolley’s tracks in Mister Rogers’ house don’t connect to the ones in the Neighborhood of Make Believe…
That is -so- cool. =)