Good Bye To My Neighbor...

Mr. Rogers dies at the age of 74. I'm very sad by this. I loved Mr. Rogers when I was a wee child. I used to get up early on the weekends to watch his show and Captain Kangaroo when I was 11. He was an icon of children's entertainment. *sigh* Although my children have never seen his show (I'm not sure how long it's been off the air), and I've not watched the show in 20 years, I'm deeply saddened by the loss. I always want to really live next door to him, to REALLY be his neighbor. I had little tennis shoes like his and a little blue cardigan (although I never understood why he changed from his jacket to his sweater when he got home... was his house drafty?). I wanted to take a ride on the little train to visit the king and queen. I wanted to sit in his livingroom and listen to stories and sing with him. He was the father I wanted to have (my parents divorced when I was 6), the uncle I wanted to go to the park with. He was a friend (if only through the magic of television), he was family, he was my neighbor. Good bye Mr. Rogers... the neighborhood will never be the same without you.