Posted by babka at 170.215.212.191 on February 27, 2003 at 08:51:44:
In Reply to: "please won't you be...my neighbor." posted by ScottMan on February 27, 2003 at 08:17:55:
Thanks for this; it is such a comfort for me to have askewaccess like
this. I too thought the debate would be a good idea, and had the
un-neighborly thought -when I heard Bush would not debate -it's too
crazy to say on the cusp of Fred's "promotion to Glory" (his term) -
"Hey, you could just assassinate Saddam on international t.v., and
we wouldn't have to have a war, and Saddam, who said he would
prefer death to exile, could be a martyr...." the brain keeps on ticking
"like a cheap clock" as Lawrence Durrell put it.
Saw a preview for a Sandler/Nicholson movie with Ben & Matt's
appropriated line in boldface: "Let the Healing Begin"...
Every zip-up sweater that hung in Fred's television house closet was
knitted by his mother, one stitch at a time. Love in every stitch, I "m
sure. So when he took off his outside-world jacket and put on his
sweater, he put on love. Even those of us who did not know love,
or cannot imagine ourselves loveable, even those of us without such
vestments can put on love.
There's a company for "oversize" women. (I who have been noshing
steadily ever since my blissful day with Jersey Girl may soon have
need of their garments.) It's called "The Forgotten Woman". There's a
logo in my mind I try to remember to stitch on my garments for the
outside world. Called "The Forgiven Woman". Kind of like Fred's
sweaters. I try to put on love.
Thanks for your eloquence. It do be hard out here and it do seem
real. Surreally real.
I went to sleep last night watching an interview with Saddam
Hussein and Dan Rather. Very interesting. I think Saddam had a neat
idea, a debate between Bush and himself. I wondered if the
translator was giving accurate translations. I wonder, if the translator
was telling the truth, that if Saddam was telling the truth in the first
place. I just didn't know.
: Then, fade to black, and I fell asleep. I woke up just 2 minutes ago,
my brother was watching TV, and there it was. "Fred Rogers died
today of stomach cancer." It barely registered. I wondered, could this
be a different Fred Rogers? Well of course it couldn't, because the
next thing the TV announcer said was, "Fred Rogers was best known
for his work on the PBS television series...."
: "What the fuck?" I asked my brother. "We're going to war, and Mr.
Rogers is dead. I'm pretty sure this is some kind of damn apocalyptic
sign here."
: "Shut up," my brother said, and he went back to his room to play on
his computer. So I just made myself some coffee, and I logged on to
View Askew, hoping to find a certain someone. And here you are,
Babka.
: Here's a virtual hug to you, and just replying to you makes me feel
better. 31 years old here, I don't care, "Mr. Rogers is dead" is not a
very decent thing to wake up to. Not when there's troops sitting on
Saddam's doorstep, Saddam wants to talk, Al-Qaida inevitably has
people walking our streets right now waiting for the U.S. to do
something stupid, other nations are turning down their noses at
us...and Mr. Rogers has hung up his sweater for the final time.
: I am an atheist. I do not believe in any great afterlife, or
reincarnation, or infernal punishment, or eternal reward. There are so
many views out there, that the only standpoint I could possibly have is
detached skepticism. I respect all other religious beliefs that do no
harm, but in the end, I believe the only way we can honor the dead is
to continue living.
: No more heroes. It's time we outgrew that, stood on our feet, and
understood life for what it is -- quite possibly our only chance in this
universe to do any bit of good, before we all hang up our own
sweaters for the final time.
: : (great idea, Ricky) "please won't you be...my neighbor."
: :
: : : Mr. Fred Rogers died last night at the age of 74 from stomach
: : cancer. I think we should all wear sneakers and sweater in
: : memorial.
: : : -Ricky "be my neighbor" Stanton