Capitol Skyline

We’ve just arrived at our hotel, a Best Western just south of The National Mall. Chris is running through a gear checklist, and asks, “Did you bring tape stock?” Uh oh.

Chris and I are in Washington, DC, to shoot three set ups for our “Mister Rogers & Me” documentary: Mister Rogers’ famous red sweater at The Smithsonian, MOS (“Man On the Street”) on The Mall, and — cross your fingers because it’s not fully confirmed — an interview with Fred Rogers Integrity Award winner, Senator Tom Harkin (of Iowa!).

And I forgot tape stock.

The 240-mile drive took just over five hours. At points, nodding off in thick traffic, I thought to myself, ‘Why me? Why do I have to spread the message?’

It’s 1:56 now. We’re watching a rerun of Anderson Cooper 360. On the way down, I said to Chris, “When I look at the state of the world — war, starvation, poverty, end-of-days type shit — I wonder why we even bother with this.” I imagine Mister Rogers wondered sometimes too.

We’re due outside The Smithsonian in eight hours. No time to wonder. We have to go to sleep.

The good news is… Chris brought tape stock.