My Friendship With Fred Rogers, by Tim Madigan

From the author of I'm Proud of You: My Friendship With Fred Rogers, a lecture at White's Chapel United Methodist Church in Southlake, Texas, on May 3, 2017.

[@THXx1138]

Fred taught us that we are lovable when it never would have occurred to us.

[@theoriginaledi]

On of the great sorrows of my life is that I never got to meet Mister Rogers and tell him what he meant to me. My story is long and I won't bore you with it, but suffice to say that he's been my hero for literally 50 years and the day he died I cried as if it were my own father who had left. Because of all this -- because I wish I could have shared my heart with him -- it's deeply meaningful to me to hear about his interactions with the adults in his life. Thank you so much for sharing your very personal stories. I can't possibly tell you how much they mean to me.

[@DrThomasWay]

I feel the exact same way. And you know, if Fred did have the pleasure of meeting you he would've loved meeting you so much!

[@theoriginaledi]

@@DrThomasWay What a very kind thing to say. Thank you so much, even though you DID make me cry before my work day has even started! :-) You're being exactly the person Mister Rogers would want you to be.

[@dbelcher3249]

Mister Rogers was one of kind person. We all need to watch his tv shows

[@librablonde]

Well I’m sitting here trying not to sob too loudly. Great speech.

[@TheHManShow]

I read Tim’s book about his friendship with Fred and might I say it was a moving experience! I’m very glad to have come across it and my mother feels the same way

[@ghostfriendies]

It sounds like you've discovered a lot about yourself---a lot that most of us would be too afraid to find. I'm glad you had the chance to become someone new, and thank you for sharing your experience.

[@anastasiaball1622]

I would do something that sad

[@steflondon88]

It’s not sad

[@anastasiaball1622]

@@steflondon88 yes my dear I know we all go though thing to find are selfs. And sometimes we hurt the ones we love the most that is what I meat by something that sad.