Roger Clark started his message to me in the way that so many people do: "I sure do miss Smiley..."

Clark is not alone in missing the legend Smiley Anders and his 50 years of writing for the newspaper.

I think of Smiley often and still have his pile of pencils on my desk . They remind me of his humor, kindness and mischievous nature.

Since he couldn't tell Smiley, Clark decided to share the latest story about his granddaughter Frances with me — and I'm glad he did.

"Frances is my 7-year-old granddaughter, and she is blessed with an abundance of optimism and innocence," Clark wrote. "She wrote a letter to Kate Middleton after seeing a photo of her and her children, asking the Princess what her favorite hobbies were and what games she played with her kids."

Early last week, to Clark's

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