My techie friends having seen another Ubuntu headline will no doubt be disappointed that this post has Nothing Whatsover to do with the Linux operating system. One of the many things I learned about Fred Rogers of television’s beloved children’s program Mr. Rogers Neighborhood was that he was greatly enamored of the African word Ubuntu, which means “I am because we are”. In a letter to author Tim Madigan Rogers wrote of Ubuntu “My identity is such that it includes you. I would be a very different person without you.” It was for Rogers a comment about friendship. Friendship was clearly the over-riding theme of Roger’s life and it would be fair to sum up his career on television as a mission to teach children and adults to acheive and value friendships in their lives.

I was not quite the right age to be enamored of Mr. Rogers when I discovered him on tv as a child, after having been a Sesame Street fan for some time I found Mr. Rogers unacceptable, more because of it’s not being Sesame Street than for any other reason. (I would insert here a bit about thankfully having outgrown my pre-school fickleness but fear being contradicted by evidence.) But in reading this very loving and moving tribute memoir I, like generations of children in front of tv sets came to know and and love the ordained Presbyterian minister and trained expert in child development who humbly worked to live out and instill in others some of the best virtues of his faith in a way that was always inclusive and open and inviting to all which so many churches sadly all too often are not.

I have to confess that I cried along with Tim Madigan at the loss of his beloved friend who tried so hard and so often succeeded in being a good friend to so many. I’m Proud Of You is a beautiful and uplifting ode to friendship. Recommended.