Thursday's Tidbits

So do you know Koko, the gorilla who can sign? Oh man, I loved Koko and her kitten when I was little. I mean, she loved her kitten, I loved my kitten - we had so much in common! 

Well, it turns out that Koko also loved Mister Rodgers, because it's impossible not to love Mister Rodgers. In 1998, Fred Rodgers went to visit Koko at the Gorila Foundation in Woodside, California, and filmed a series of episodes featuring Koko focused on inclusion titled "You and I Together." (That alone makes me tear up a little.) Koko was already familiar with the show before meeting Mister Rodgers in person, she was a fan of the show. When she first met him, not only did she wrap him up in a huge hug, but she then proceded to do what she'd seen him do on TV for years - she took off his shoes. Amazing. 

Mister Rogers said, "Once you get to know people (or our close primate relatives, gorillas), you find that there is much more to them than what you see when you look at their 'outsides.' It's the heart and not just the eyes that discover what's real about us." That man! 

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