Gotta wish a happy birthday to a childhood/man child favorite of mine; Bob Ross. I'd argue Bob Ross was pound for pound better at his job than anyone at anything. Guy created masterpieces in 26 minutes. And he made it look so easy! I remember once I tried to stick with him on a painting with my Crayola Water Colors and I followed it step by step. At the end his looked like a masterpiece and mine looked like someone threw up on a piece of paper. That plus Bob was right in the heart of 6 year old Jon's nap time. Also right in the heart of 28 year old Jon's naptime but that's a different story for a different day. Point is when I was a kid it was Sesame Street, Mr Rogers, Reading Rainbow and then Bob Ross right into naptime. Guy's voice was so serene it was ridiculous. In fact I'm not sure I've ever seen an end to a Joy of Painting episode. 19 minutes in is about as far as I can make it. Seriously I'm not sure how sleep therapists even have a job. Insomnia? Find a Bob Ross video on Youtube and problem solved. Like human Ambien.

Not to mention he gave my generation the easy out catchphrase: Happy Littly Accident. Oh you smudged too much Prussian Blue on your river? Just a happy little accident. Your cabin in the woods doesn't have a door? Whatever. Happy little accident. Doing 65mph in a school zone? It's not a mistake, it's a happy little accident. See it works on so many levels. 

Sadly Bob passed away in 1996. Far too soon for a man of such epic talent. But I think we can all tip our cap to that afro-ed man riding a Titanium White Cloud in the sky.