The passing of Fred Rogers was the sad news I heard this morning.

When I was very young, I remember watching him on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. My favorite part of his show was when the trolley would travel along a track through a hole in the wall on its way to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. That part stays with me because my sister and I would play make-believe when we were small (it was such an inexpensive form of entertainment).

Of the man himself, I recall his smile, his calm and gentle manner and his music. Caring, imagination and learning were three things he encouraged and reinforced in me. But most of all, I will remember Fred Rogers as somebody who personified warmth and kindness.