On this past Monday, Labor Day, I gave a welcome-to-school talk to First-Years at Hampshire College, as a guest of their Office of Student Development. And just last night I gave the keynote welcome address to new and returning LGBTQ&A Students at New York University, as a guest of the NYU Office of LGBT Student Services. What a rush! I felt truly welcome at both schools, and I met some brave and awfully fun students who I’m now in touch with on my myspace page.
Makes me feel really good about the future.
 

But now I’m exhausted, and I‘m letting Mr. Rogers describe the kind of world that probably would be equally welcoming to both you and me and gosh just about everyone else I can think of, even and maybe especially Mr. President himself. Wouldja be my neighbor, George?

Here’s a fun little brain teaser to perk you right up when you’re feeling blue: f you and I are both welcome in the same kind of world, even if we’re such different people, then how much else do we have in common? What else could we agree on. You, and freaky ol’ me? As far apart in age or race or class or sexuality or gender or religion or political ideology that you and I might be, do you think that you and I could possibly agree to work together to build the kind of world we’d both feel welcome in? Just wondering.

This clip of Mr. Rogers addressing the US Senate in 1963 comes to you
courtsey of mentalfloss.com/blogs. I check them daily, and I am a loyal
subscriber to the magazine. Mr. Rogers always tried his best to make people feel welcome, even the mean old senators who were threatening to take away the $20 million dollar grant to national public broadcasting effectively taking a lot of programming, including Mr. Rogers Neighborhood off the air.

This is a clip where the little good guys win over the big, bad bullies. And they do it without being mean. Watching this clip made me feel really darned good. I hope it makes you feel that way too.

kiss kiss

Kate