Won’t you be my neighbor? So the motto of the old show and the title of the new documentary both go. Seems harmless enough, but few consider just how dangerous it is to make that rash vow of YES to Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood — how calmly he asserted himself into national conversations on race, poverty, tragedy, war, and divorce just like a good neighbor and not, it would seem, like the praxis of State Farm who’s only there if you paid your premium. To say “yes, I will be your n

Nearly impossible was the task of getting more than five minutes with Jamel on a Saturday morning. I snapped the first two photos on a brisk walk up Enright when I expressed that I desperately needed any individual picture. Plenty were the number of shots of him working hard in the gardens or with his team. When we finally sat down to chat, I realized five minutes was all I needed because our interview was essentially and unexpectedly rapid fire. Jamel not only speaks intelli

I caught Chasity at the beginning of a Saturday morning break. She began to saunter away from the gardens when I asked her where she was going and if she had time for an interview. She responded in stride, "I'm going home and I'd be happy to answer your questions as soon as we get in air conditioning." I realized this was an invitation into her home just a few more feet away. I happily followed. Once inside, we grabbed some popsicles, two for us to enjoy now and a handful for

As seen above, Jolanda and I had a bit of a fashion shoot before later sitting down to discuss her dreams. She is pictured in garden two, which is the garden she is the student leader of. Which is the garden she leads well, as seen below. As we swatted away the bugs from biting our legs, she talked about her plans to become a travel nurse. She explained that her inspiration stemmed from two separate things -- the amount of time she has spent in a hospital and a youtube channe

Jamia is the first of five STL | LIFT student leaders that you will get to know this month. I chose to interview each of the student leaders in a similar fashion — asking them questions about what they wanted to be when they were younger, what they want to be now, and how they intend to reach those goals. I realized early on that an easier question to ask Jamia would have been "What didn't you want to be when you were younger?" instead of the opposite. Among her shifts from t

Dancing in the Commons: Tango (August 3) - St. Louis Public Radio, Nine Network and AARP in St. Louis partner for the for the first time to bring tango to the Public Media Commons on Olive, free to the public! Convergence Dance and Body Center will provide professional dancers to demonstrate the basic steps before attendees try it themselves. While the event is free registration is required! You can register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dancing-in-the-commons-tango-tick