It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

Would you be mine, could you be mine, won't you be my neighbor?

It has become a part of our morning routine to watch a little T.V. while I feed Rowie breakfast. We don't have many channels so I usually don't have much more than the Tyra show or Home Shopping Network to entertain myself during my cup of coffee. Today however, a vintage episode of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood was on PBS.

As I listened to his soothing voice and kind, slow way of talking I realized that they really don't make children's programs the way they used to. Growing up we would always watch Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, Mr. Rogers, and other, quality kid shows. We learned important lessons like recycling, sharing, the way animals talk to one another, how to be a good friend. Today the tube is filled with bratty children whining at their parents, crude cartoons, and flashy noisy displays created to anesthetize a child's mind. There are no morals, no education- only shows that T.V. execs deem to be marketable. If you can't turn it into a video game or a t-shirt, it's not "good enough" to be on T.V. Today's T.V. teaches children how they are supposed to dress and talk, which toys they should play with, and what the best sugar cereals are to eat. Thousands of young girls want to grow up to look like Hannah Montanah, and every clothing store from Wa-Mart to Macy's is helping them to acheive that dream I don't think any of us ever said "Wow, Gabriella has the coolest hair! I gotta ask mom for some hair extensions to match hers" (a product that is really available to mimic Miley Cyrus). I miss the PBS of the eighties. It's just not the same.

Watching Mr. Roger's also brought up other non-rant related thoughts. Charles always makes fun of me for calling my Dyson a "sweeper". He's not the first one to point out to me that my family are the only ones who don't use the proper term, vacuum. Well guess who else favors the Beyke word? That's right- Mr. Rogers. After changing into his sneakers and cardigan he saw his carpet was dusty. Out of his studio closet he pulled out his "sweeper" and "swept" the floor. So I gotta ask mom, is that where we got it? Or did we use a sweeper long before Mr. Rogers did?

Another thing I noticed was Mr. Rogers strange way of asking if a guest was at the door. After hearing a knock he stated "I wonder if it's they". Not them; they. At first I thought it was a mistake, that his tongue had twisted the word around. Then he said it a second time "I hear a knock on the door. Let's see if it's they." So is this just another peculiarty like sweeper? Or is this really the proper way of saying someone is at the door? I'm really curious about this one, so if anyone knows the answer please tell me.

Who knew Mr. Rogers could be so thought provoking?