{"id":17444,"date":"2019-12-06T13:27:57","date_gmt":"2019-12-06T19:27:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/?p=17444"},"modified":"2020-01-20T10:21:42","modified_gmt":"2020-01-20T16:21:42","slug":"jeff-erlanger-mister-rogers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebozho.com\/jeff-erlanger-mister-rogers\/","title":{"rendered":"A Madison boy was Fred Rogers’ favorite neighbor"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s hard to understate the importance of Fred Rogers to American culture. The iconic host of Mister Rogers\u2019 Neighborhood <\/em>taught progressive lessons about empathy and acceptance at a time when people\u2019s differences were still being played for cheap laughs.<\/p>\n

He died in 2003 at age 74, but the past couple of years have seen something of a Rogerssaince. The 2018 documentary Won\u2019t You Be My Neighbor?<\/em><\/a> explored the TV host\u2019s life and career, and this year\u2019s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood<\/em><\/a> sees Rogers getting the Hollywood treatment. In an inspired bit of casting, it features Tom Hanks donning the red sweater to play Rogers.<\/p>\n

In fact, Hanks can trace his participation back to one specific moment: He points to a clip from a 1981 episode in which a cheerful boy in a motorized wheelchair came to visit. \u201cIt made me bawl my eyes out,\u201d the 63-year-old actor recently told Vanity Fair<\/em><\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s one of the reasons why I\u2019m in the movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

That boy\u2019s name was Jeff Erlanger, and he lived in Madison. He died in 2007 at age 36, but left a legacy of public service and activism that will long outlive him.<\/span>\n

\"Fred<\/p>\n<\/span>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not what I can\u2019t do\u2026\u201d<\/h2>\n

Jeffrey Clay Erlanger was born in California in 1970 but moved here with his family when he was one year old. His father Howard became a law professor at UW and still teaches there part-time<\/a>. At seven months old, young Jeff was diagnosed with a spinal tumor that cost him the use of both his arms and legs, rendering him quadriplegic. But even though Erlanger would be in and out of hospitals his entire life, he remained remarkably positive.<\/p>\n

Even as a child, Howard said that Jeff never dwelled on his condition. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter what I can\u2019t do \u2014 what matters is what I can do<\/a>\u201d would become his philosophy. And that philosophy clearly left an impression on Fred Rogers, who met Jeff before the latter underwent spinal surgery at age five. (see picture above)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents asked me what it was I wanted to do before the surgery,\u201d Erlanger said in 2002<\/a>. \u201cThey were expecting me to say that I wanted to go to an amusement park. My answer was that I wanted to meet Mr. Rogers.\u201d<\/p>\n

It would not be the only time the two would cross paths.<\/span>\n