R.I.P. Robin Williams

I was very excited about being promoted to the second grade, because during mixed group my first grade class joined the second grade. Their teacher had long flowing red hair and emitted a positive vibe. Instead of returning to my elementary school in Edison, Ohio the powers that be had me bused farther away, to an elementary school in the village of Mount Gilead.

There I met, one of my favorite teachers, Mrs. Parks. She called me over for a one on one math quiz. I sat across from her and put my hands under the table. When she realized I was counting on my fingers she said,"You don't have to hide your hands, you're allowed to use your fingers." I breathed a sigh of relief.

One of my classmates, JD Junk, frequently imitated Robin Williams' character from the popular TV series Mork & Mindy. JD would seemingly absorb milk through his finger and used the word, ShazBot, as an expletive. When called on, he gave us a fun diversion from the topic at hand. His signature move was to point at the lighting above our heads and say, "Na-Nu Na-Nu" (pronounced "nah-noo nah-noo"). At which point we waited for something magical to happen. This reminded me of watching Bullwinkle Moose try to pull a rabbit out of his hat. But even Mrs. Parks went flush when, no sooner were the words Na-Nu Na-Nu out of his mouth, the lights went out. Coincidence is a funny thing. Mrs. Parks resolved the current must have been interrupted, but for that brief instant, JD had ignited the willful suspension of disbelief.

Pam Dawber told ET NOW (4/10/2014) "That show made people really happy. It was a happy time of their lives, they loved it." This was certainly true for me. My dad was a fan of Jonathan Winters who played Mork & Mindy's child Mearth. He sometimes watched the show with me. I remember telling him, "I want to marry Robin Williams." When he asked, "Why?" I said, "Because he makes me laugh."

President Barack Obama: "Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and everything in between. But he was one of a kind. He arrived in our lives as an alien -- but he ended up touching every element of the human spirit," Obama said in an official statement Monday evening. "He made us laugh. He made us cry. He gave his immeasurable talent freely and generously to those who needed it most -- from our troops stationed abroad to the marginalized on our own streets. The Obama family offers our condolences to Robin's family, his friends, and everyone who found their voice and their verse thanks to Robin Williams."