In the spring of 2002 there was a dust up at Dartmouth
College. Some of the students were upset
at the selection of the commencement speaker. In the post 911 world, the students desired an individual who had shaped the world. Reading the article I was struck by a quote from one of the graduating
seniors, “We were really hoping for someone who has had an impact on the world!”. I packaged up that quote and a link to the
article and sent it to an old friend who was a Dartmouth alum. His simple response, ‘Oh the ignorance of
youth.’
Who was it that caused this student unrest? None other than the shoe swapping, sweater wearing Mr
Rogers. My friend was in a particular position to understand his impact since Mr. Rogers had
been to his house numerous times for dinner.
Mr. Rogers and my friend’s father attended seminary together. Chris always said to me, what you see
on TV is exactly the way Mr. Rogers is in everyday life.
So what in the world is the link of the numbers 1-4-3 and Mr.
Roger’s?
Turns out there is a double meaning. First, 1-4-3 was his short hand for communicating
I (1 letter), Love (4 letters), You (3 letters). Another tie in is that each day Mr. Rogers
would complete his morning swim and then weigh himself. He was quite proud of the fact that every day
of his adult life the scale read 143. As
someone said, ‘He was made of love.”
For someone who weighed 143 lbs soaking wet – he sure was and
is a world changer.
Embrace 143 day (even if I’m a day late): https://triblive.com/local/regional/1-4-3-day-will-celebrate-mr-rogers-message-of-love/
The Dartmouth commencement speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=907yEkALaAY
