"Love Is All Around"

TV Land paid tribute to Mary Tyler Moore by erecting this bronze statue of her famous hat toss. It has stood in downtown Minneapolis since 2002, and the internet is filled with photos of happy tourists smiling, posing, tossing their own hats alongside. The plaque reads "Who can turn the world on with her smile?"

I grew up watching The Mary Tyler Moore Show and wanted to be Mary all through my childhood ... Maybe I still wanna be Mary. She was geeky-hip. Always did the right thing, was always kind, always careful not to hurt anyone's feelings, always worked hard, never lied, she had trendy clothes, and she was independent and lived in a cozy apartment. She worked an important job, had her own money, her hair always looked nice. She wore make-up, but not too much. She was afraid, yet unafraid. She never made fun of anyone. She was thin and pretty and smart. Loyal and true. She made the whole world seem like a nice place. She was everything I wanted to be. Everything I still want to be.

I loved her theme song, too. Love Is All Around was written by a man named Sonny Curtis -- the same man who wrote I Fought the Law. I read an article where he said it took him only two hours to write Mary's theme song. He said if he had known how famous it would become, it would have taken him longer to write, because he would have been more nervous.

I miss being the little kid who was mesmerized by Mary Tyler Moore and I'm sad she's gone.

I wish her a peaceful eternity.