A Life of Words

Kay and I shed some tears Sunday afternoon. In a packed house at Theatre Arlington, we weren’t alone, I can promise you.

The final performance of “I’m Proud of You” was an emotional, moving portrayal of my longtime newspaper colleague Tim Madigan’s friendship with Mister Rogers. Yes, *that* Mister Rogers, the one who made children feel better about themselves and learn how to deal with childhood challenges for more than 30 years with his public television show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” which aired over 900 episodes from 1968 to 2001.

The play is based on Tim’s beautiful book “I’m Proud of You: My Friendship with Fred Rogers,” which published in 2006 (3 years after Fred’s death from stomach cancer) and details the bond he and Fred started building in 1995 when Tim was working on a story for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. While reporting that piece, he did telephone interviews with both Fred and Bob Keeshan, who portrayed “Captain Kangaroo” on another beloved, long-running children’s show.

For those who haven’t read Tim’s book on Mister Rogers or listened to the audiobook (which is what I did), I won’t spoil any of it for you. If you know anything about Mister Rogers or watched the show as a kid or with your kids, it’s a must-read. If you’ve never seen the show but have heard of Mister Rogers or even saw Eddie Murphy’s “SNL” spoof “Mister Robinson’s Neighborhood” sketches, you should read the book. If you have no idea who Fred Rogers is, you should still read it because it’ll bring out deep emotions you forgot (or never knew) you had, help you think better thoughts, and make you realize there really are some incredibly wonderful people in this world.

Just read it.

Tim, one of the most talented writers and journalists I’ve ever read or known, and I met when I started my first newspaper job in June 1983 after graduating from Texas A&M. I became a sports writer at The Odessa American, where Tim was a news reporter just a handful of years into his career. The following year, Tim left for the Star-Telegram, and in April 1987, I made the same move.

Theatre Arlington’s “I’m Proud of You” was the fifth professional production of the 90-minute play since 2023. I sincerely hope there will be more so those who haven’t seen it will have the opportunity.

I’m just thankful Kay and I were part of the fortunate crowd in the house Sunday in downtown Arlington.