I am so sad today. Mr. Rogers is dead.

I know that most people have and will continue to make fun of this wonderful, gentle man and his program, but I loved him almost like I knew him personally. I watched the Neighborhood as a child and when my daughter was a baby I started watching it again. Fred Rogers understood children and their imaginations like very few other entertainers/educators ever could. He explained the world to them/us in a way that made it fascinating and real and perfectly accessible. He was a friend who was as curious as the children who watched him. Even as an adult, I learned so much from his show.

But most of all he was gentle and loving, a kind presence in the lives of children who might never know such gentleness and patience in an adult. And he was always first and foremost an adult. He knew that children need grown-ups to be grown up.

My husband said today that Mr. Rogers' death marks the end of an era of children's programming that was quiet and loving. The Friendly Giant (who got his start from Fred Rogers) and Mr. Dressup are gone too. I hope there is someone else out there who understands that in a child's world quiet and safety are places where the imagination can wander and understanding can grow.