I feel as if I've lost a dear old friend.

[WilliamPitt]

And that's weird, because I never met Robin Williams. Never saw him in person, anywhere, ever. He existed on screens for me completely. When he was alive, he couldn't have picked me out of a line-up.

I'm also not a celebrity-worshiper in any way, shape or form. The last actor I felt gut-punched at their passing was Jerry Orbach, "Lenny" from Law & Order, because I've been watching that show obsessively since 1991.

This is different, though. I feel like I've lost a friend who always made me laugh, and who taught me a few very important lessons along the way. I decided to be a teacher many, many years ago, and one of the seedcorns of that decision was when I saw "Dead Poet's Society" for the first time. Coming from Boston, I don't have to tell you how much "Good Will Hunting" touched me; I actually worked at the "Do you like apples?" Baskin & Robins next door to the old Bow & Arrow. The bench in the Public Garden where Williams and Damon filmed the "Your move, chief" scene has become a makeshift shrine, so I'm not the only one.

I'm just really, really sad today.