Fred Rogers quotes Margaret McFarland in this column about a week of Neighborhood programs dealing with fantasy and reality. Fred had a rationale for everything he presented on television, and he wrote columns to help parents and caregivers understand his reasons and motives for each week of Neighborhood programs. In this series of programs, Mister Rogers addresses fantasy and reality by talking about how images from photographs and television screens are different from real life. He also shows how he and Bob Trow make the puppets in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe talk.
The NOM storyline is about hope and disappointment. Lady Elaine Fairchilde mistakenly believes that Cornflake S. Pecially wants to marry her. She plans for a wedding but is sad when she learns that Corney is going away on a trip; he had no idea about a wedding and does not plan to marry Lady Elaine. The neighbors help Lady Elaine deal with her disappointment by throwing a party instead of a wedding.
Mister Rogers meets ballet dancer Ying Li and is anxious to try a few dance moves on his own. She takes his hand and guides him through some of the steps. She shows how her special shoes allow her to stay up on her toes. Mister Rogers says that her love for dance is evident in the way she moves around to the music.
"Thoughts for the Week" allow us to read why Fred Rogers presented certain topics on the Neighborhood, and how he tried to help children understand those themes. These thoughts are about fantasy and reality, wishing and hoping.
Chuck Aber was a frequent neighbor on the television program, both in Mister Rogers' real world and the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. In this oral history, Aber remembers rehearsing for the television operas, specifically "Josephine the Short-Neck Giraffe" and "Spoon Mountain."
The Fred Rogers Institute Archivist is available for requests and inquiries from students and researchers.