In 1983 Bob Ross started the show “The Joy of Painting.” In 1983 I was just out of high school and just not into painting or PBS for that matter. I remember PBS as the only station that showed Sesame Street, and I was aware that they had yoga on in the morning because my mother would turn it on and follow along. I would not have dreamed of following along with this soft-spoken guy who enjoyed a little tree here and there and a small stream in a way that would put an angry charging tiger in a coma. Today every time I come across his show I smile and have to stop if only for a moment and admire the genius. No, Bob Ross is not Picasso, his paintings are not great art, but his quiet enthusiasm and his love of what he is doing make the show something special. To watch him, in what seems effortless to him start with a blank canvas and add a little here and a little there till a peaceful scene emerges, with happy little trees and bushes and the encouragement from Bob that you can make anything you want to as well. I have to say that with his prompting I have tried to paint, it did not look anything like the happy scene I saw on the television. I did, however, enjoy doing it and that is the genius. Just getting people to pick up a brush if only one time is Bob’s legacy, and I would think he would say, that’s nice!