Old Rabbit

Tom Junod writes Mister Rogers’ profile like a story. He starts with “Once upon a time,” and ends in a way which circles back to the beginning, giving the piece meaning. Mister Rogers is a man who has lived his life for others, and so his profile becomes less about him and more about the ways in which he has helped many people.

Every time Tom uses “Once upon a time” to tell the story of a young kid whose life Mister Rogers touched, he starts with the child’s challenge. One child had Cerebral palsy. One child wanted to fight Mister Rogers with a rainbow sword. One child was born blind and had to deal with abuse. When Mister Rogers enters the story, each child is changed. They are not more grown up, but they learn to overcome their challenge in some way.

This effect that Mister Rogers has on people is reflected onto Tom’s writing. As a kid, Tom had been taught to pray by his Old Rabbit, but only in a sad and wishful kind of way. Mister Rogers urges Tom to find the other side of prayer. But he steps aside and lets Deb lead the way.

The title, “Can You Say… Hero?” is great because it implies that Mister Rogers is a hero, when in fact he is a humble man. He is a good example of real life heroism because he has effected (even saved) the lives of so many people- as is demonstrated by the swarms of people greeting him at the train station.  The best example of his heroism was his interaction with the boy holding the sword. The boy obviously looked up to TV and movie characters that are portrayed to be strong on the outside, and perhaps his self-esteem depended entirely on his outside appearance. When Mister Rogers whispered in the boy’s ear that he was strong on the inside too, it probably changed his life forever. Just knowing that a hero doesn’t have to look strong on the outside can really impact how a kid sees himself in the world.

Tom really keeps in mind that he was once a kid in the narration of Mister Rogers’ story. Everything comes back to his relationship with Old Rabbit, his special friend.