Spread a Little Kindness Today
November 13 is World Kindness Day. Established in 1998, World Kindness Day is celebrated around the globe – from the US to Japan and Nigeria to the United Arab Emirates. Acts of kindness, both big and small, are encouraged as a symbol of the things that we, as a global community, can accomplish if we are good to one another. One of those small acts that is easy to do no matter your age, is to wear a cardigan. This year, in honor of Mister Rogers and the message of kindness that he spread, Pittsburgh TV station WQED is encouraging everyone to grab my favorite kind of sweater, take a picture and tag it #CardiganDay.
Don’t let your celebration of World Kindness Day end with a sweater. Take a listen to “Drop in the Bucket,” the newest song from Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could. Filled with suggestions on easy ways that young people can be kind to one another, take inspiration from the song and add a drop of kindness to your bucket as we work together to make every day in the neighborhood beautiful.
Thank You Mister Rogers: Music & Memories is a tribute to the incomparable Fred Rogers. Featuring twelve of the over 200 songs that Rogers wrote during his lifetime and performed by a wide variety of stars from yesterday and today, this album is filled with nostalgia for those who spent their formative years wishing they could visit that most famous of neighborhoods. “Some Things I Don’t Understand” was originally performed by Mister Rogers in episode 1101: Death of a Goldfish (1970). During the episode, Mister Rogers discovers that one of his goldfish has died. Throughout the episode, he demonstrates ways to deal with grief including acknowledging that it is ok to be sad, and the importance of sharing happy memories of those you lose. The episode concludes with “Some Things I Don’t Understand” which emphasizes the importance of talking about your feelings when you are happy, sad, mad, or just don’t understand.
Originally performed with much gravitas by Fred Rogers, Bergeron’s version of “Some Things I Don’t Understand” maintains all of the original lyrics but is given an updated jazzy feel that still treats the wonderances seriously, while giving them a more lighthearted melody to be posed against. Bergeron sets the perfect tone of a child’s inquisitive mind with his lively lyrics that move from topic to topic, but much like Mister Rogers, never just gives us the answers. “Some Things I Don’t Understand” also includes a rather impressive whistling solo by Bergeron. As the album’s producer, Dennis Scott, tells it, “I learned that not only did Tom enjoy singing, but he is an outstanding whistler. So at the session we tried having him do a jazz flavored whistling solo. Everyone liked it so much that it became the centerpiece of the song. ”