Nina-
Sometimes on The Land of Hatchy Milatchy Miss Judy would read the mail. I sent her a letter once, and probably a picture, right after my little brother came into the world. I think she read it on the air; though I only heard second-hand tell of this. I may have been out in the kitchen making peanut butter toast or out in the greenhouse looking for early strawberries or something. If you missed it on TV you missed it. Until VCRs came along.
I rarely watched TV but I watched Hatchy Milatchy and thought Miss Judy would be pretty cool to hang out with, not just after school but like all weekend. We could go ice skating, fill up coloring books, and visit Mr. Rogers in his neighborhood. We could take a picnic to his garden. I love Mr. Rogers too. Sweaters make me itchy, even if I’m not wearing one, and I may scoff at changing my shoes every trip through the door but I suppose it would be good practice tying laces and there’s no one else in the whole world who I’d want to sing me a lullaby at the end of the line.
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“What do you do with the mad that you feel
when you feel so mad you could bite?
When the whole wide world seems oh so wrong
and nothing you do seems very right? What do you do?…”
-Mr. Rogers
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Thank you, Mr. Rogers. It helps to be loved. It helps to have a friend and neighbor like you.
I missed Miss Judy reading my letter on TV that day but I may have been in more of a Captain Kangaroo kind of mood anyway. He was just as fun as Miss Judy but more stern. He was a Captain after all and had a ship to run and even back then I knew the moon wasn’t made of strawberry ice. The Captain kept me in line.
Then there was The Magic Garden. Man, those hippy chicks and pink tree squirrels could sing. I’ve always loved mushrooms, mainly because of pizza but also thanks to Carole & Paula. So Thank You, Carole & Paula! And Sherlock & Flapper! I could do tea in The Magic Garden any time.
If only I could imagine again like a child maybe I could imagine what that letter may have said. I bet it was a good one.
-Ret
Raf’-
Send it when the greenhouse is red and the window’s square. That’s what she said. That’s all it says on one side with no address on the other. It was down at the bottom of the messenger bag in the dead letters but I figured someone somewhere may need it. And please remember, don’t shoot the messenger. I’m running a little thin.
Love,
Nia
Photo by Tom Wheatley on Unsplash