The passing of Fred Rogers seems ripe for comment, especially given that Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood started about the same time I did, thus qualifying as some sort of generational touchstone. To be honest, though, it was not a staple of my childhood TV viewing (I actually watched precious little PBS kids' programming, though I did enjoy The Electric Company).

So while not going on about how Henrietta Pussycat shaped my worldview, I can lament losing one of the more rational voices in the TV wilderness. It's rare to find someone, in TV or not, who has such a singular passion, especially at a time when the trend was away from his message and methods for getting that message out.

I was lucky enough to be working the day that Rogers got an honorary degree from BU in 1992. I did not attend the baccalaureate service he officiated - Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister - and now wish I had. He didn't give the main address that year (the honor going to Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa, who went on forever), but he did get the entire crowd to sing "Won't You Be My Neighbor," which is pretty impressive when sung by 20,000.

Anyway, one hopes his trolley ride to the Land of Make Believe is smooth and enjoyable.