I was sad to hear about Mr. Roger's passing today too. If it weren't for Mr. Rogers, I wouldn't have known what a platypus is until much much later in life. He taught many of us the most fundamental fundamentals of daily life, didn't he?

My brother and I loved him, his show, his songs, and his sweaters. He was all we could watch on TV for awhile. Our parents didn't allow us to watch Sesame Street because it was "bad." I'm not sure what they were thinking... Maybe it was something as simple as Oscar the Grouch being a grouch and living in a garbage can that turned them off. And I suppose Mr. Rogers met their standards because he was also a Presbyterian minister.

Ironically, it was Mr. Rogers who first introduced me to make-believe. Make-believe, complete with castles and kings and princes and talking animals, later became a way to escape the "real" world in which I felt trapped and limited. In essence, I give him credit for planting the seed that was to grow into the complex, fantastical inner world I lived in throughout the latter years of my childhood.

Thank you, Mr. Rogers, for all you've taught me. Rest in peace... or in Heaven... or in Make-Believe... wherever you prefer.