Often they come in threes.

OK, I admit it. I have blown it. I haven't been able to drag my tired self around to get a post together since June 21st. That is pretty bad. In my own defense they are working me way too hard at the shop these days. My wife has me on a starvation diet and walking twice a day. Relatives have been in and out of town, and we are preparing for a trip. The news has been strange lately, requiring much discussion with coworkers and family.

That is all about to change.

Vacation is coming.

I can't post anything while I am off in the Rockies, but at least I can break the streak of work, work, and more work, maybe getting out of constant panic mode.

I have missed timely posting of thoughts on the passings of Ed McMahaon, Farrah, and Michael.
Of the three, Farrah seems to me the most tragic. She wasn't the youngest or most-loved. She was far from the most talented, as Michael was obviously one of the five or ten top performers in our time. But Farrah was unfortunate to have experienced great fame and adoration early on in life, based on her looks, only to see it slip through her fingers. Finally, later in life, she was taken seriously as an actress, just once for her role in "The Burning Bed." It wasn't a classic by any means but gave her some gravitas in the business.

Farrah seemed to lose her way in life. A few years ago she appeared on a late-night talk show, virtually lacking any control of herself. She spoke English words but made no sense whatsoever. Her syntax and reasoning were soaked in what appeared to be a drug-induced mud bath. The host was obviously perplexed but carried on as best he could. I think it was Letterman, and he strangely held himself back. Perhaps that was an indication of what her life was, I don't know, but not long after came the news of her impending battle with cancer. Of course it eventually, painfully consumed her.

Michael was a tortured man, spending his adult years and fortune desperately trying to reclaim the childhood his father denied him. He, too, was tragic but also just odd to me. It is a frightening insight into what too much money can motivate people to do: his physicians, the women who bore his children, parents of children whom he is reputed to have molested. And yet he will be remembered with entertainment giants such as Caruso, Cohan, Sinatra, Presley, Paverotti, and the Beatles. His career did not span the years which it should have, yet he is known the world over.

Then there was Ed. I will miss him the most. The consummate straight-man, the foil, the voice everyone waited to hear belt out "Hiiiiyoooooooooo" just as Johnny broke throught the curtains. Ed is a lesson in why men should marry only the woman they truly love and leave the bimbos alone. He had several wives who cleaned him out financially, forcing him to do almost anything he could to generate a paycheck in his later years. He shilled DVD's of the old Carson-era "Tonight Show" and went on the road with a 'memories' show which was panned around the country. Only a year or so ago, he was nearly put out of his home until Donald Trump bought the house back for him and saved additional humiliation. Not a fitting end for a proud US Marine and the cheerful man we all knew.

Yes indeed, I will have to stay on top of the blog. There is just too much going on, and I haven't even started in on Obama yet. But first, ROAD TRIP!!