So, where's the satisfaction?: The Village Idiot

I love funny E-mails. I also love some of the others that pull at the heartstrings.

Some contain a personal reference to a Pittsburgh I knew as a child. Some are like the one I just received from daughter Beth, asking me for information. The information she sought was from a Father/Daughter chat we had when she was around the age of 16.

Now, I love my daughter very much. I also love her & husband Larry's four kids - one of which I referenced recently when discussing his high school football injury.

The fact that she now has 4 kids of her own suggests a couple of things to me. There is real satisfaction coming from a daughter who actually listened to her dad back then. There is even more satisfaction that she assumed I would remember what the heck I said.

Beth related that the subject of my "speechifying" was the three types of people she would most likely meet in the world. She said she remembers part of it and often uses it when meeting new people.

Now, she had a friend who was in need of some "girlfriend" guidance. She'd like to be able to impart what had impacted both her and her Dad.

She told me enough that I took a stab at trying to complete her picture using what was going on in my life at that time. Memory suggested it possibly was when I was singing the praises of various psychotherapists whose works had impressed me.

After my brief "stabbing" attempt ' I referred her back to my recent blog on Fritz Perls.

What a satisfying experience! What a great "kid." (Sorry, she'll always be that.)

Not all E-mails are satisfying, as you know. They can often leave you wondering what was on the mind of the person who sent them. Such was the case of one I received today entitled "Why Mr. Rogers wore a sweater."

It came from a lovely lady by the name of Joan . She is my wife's aunt and one of the few people with whom I exchange E-mail who has also been in this world longer than this old blogger.

I read the E-mail and realized it contained some references about Mr. Rogers that I - another Western Pennsylvania native - and fan - had never heard before.

It spoke of a Fred Rogers who at one time allegedly was a rough and tumble guy - a war hero - with multiple tatoos on his body which he chose to cover up with his cardigan- on his kid's show- on the way to becoming an ordained minister.

The E-mail also made a similar war reference to Bob Keeshan - the Clarabelle the Clown and Captain Kangaroo personage. The story involved Tonight Show host Johnny Carson and movie actor Lee Marvin, too.

It was an outright lie and involved more spinning than Rumplestiltskin could ever have conceived.

A check of Snopes revealed that "NO" - Fred Rogers had never served in the armed forces - had never been a US Navy Seal and had never been credited with over 25 confirmed kills to his name. It said nothing about the alleged "many tatoos on his forearm and biceps" or that he was a master in small arms and hand-to-hand combat - able to disarm or kill in a heartbeat.

I kind of eliminated those last allegations on my own. I justifiably concluded it was just the ramblings of some perverted S.O.B. who apparently did not receive enough hugs as a child.

My question of the author is, what was your purpose in spreading this cow dung? More important, "Where is the satisfaction" you hoped to receive?

Is it in the satisfaction that some frail little old gray haired lady will think less of or more of a fundamentally great man? Is it in the anonymity to which you cling? Is your own self-esteem so lacking that you're desperately looking for any possible "15 minutes of fame"?

Was it in the hope your story would continue to be repeated per your: "Send this on, please? Nothing will happen if you don't, but you will be awakening others to what a HERO is made of "

It won't be Aunt Joan who I contacted and delicately explained that her fond memory of Fred Rogers should not be disturbed by the sick mind of some idiot. I also thanked her for thinking of me and my Pittsburgh connection when she sent it off.

In some strange way I think I just remembered one of the three types of people I described to my daughter, lo, those many years ago.

That would be: "The Village Idiot!"