Fred is a good friend. Here is my story. I was working as a surgical physician assistant in the pediatric open heart team at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh. A kid of about 9 asked me one evening, "I hear that they are gonna saw my chest open with a buzz saw. Is that true"? I was dumbfounded. I couldn't lie to the kid (cause that's essentially what we do) but I didn't want to scare the hell out of him. What to do? I went across the street to Family Communications where Fred Rogers worked. I asked to see him. I was in my white lab coat and scrub suit. Fred came right out and we had a thirty minute conversation. Tell the truth, but play it down. He would be asleep and he wouldn't feel anything until AFTER he woke up. Don't lie. Kids could pick that sort of thing up in an instant. I have used those instructions on thousands of patients, kids and adults. It has never failed me. Fred and I continue to write. And in EVERY case, he WRITES. No secretary. No typewriter. No computer genrated letters. Handwritten, every time, in a beautiful cursive style.

Yes, Presbyterian minister. And yes, personality off camera is the same as on.

My most lasting memory...he once let me hold King Friday XIII. No kidding.

Have a beautiful day in the neighborhood,

Bob Pegritz