If I Died Tonight

Sometimes we all get a little down. Our lives seem boring. It seems like life is passing us by. But I was thinking a while ago, that I should be grateful for the time I've had.

I have great parents that provided for me the perfect childhood. They are simple people and we were middle class, but my Dad, although uneducated was very wise and understood how to make a little money a lot of money. They always pushed us in the right direction. Although my Dad was the youngest of 6, I was the first grandchild of his parents to get any kind of degree. My brother got the first Bachelor Degree. I and both my siblings all have Bachelor Degrees now. We are the only ones of all 27 grandchildren of the above mentioned grandparents to have Bachelor Degrees.

And a great childhood is not all that common. I was once at a training session designed to teach us how to be Substance Abuse Counselors. They asked "How many people here had a normal childhood?" I put my hand in the air. And then I slowly looked around. Mine was the only hand in the air. The guy asked me, "So you had a normal childhood?" As I looked around I answered, "Apparently not."

So I had that. But beyond that I have the love of a great woman. I have four wonderful kids. I am so lucky.

And in this crazy life I have:

I have been in movies, I have seen the Mona Lisa, I have stood in the shadow of Big Ben, I've been to the top of Pike's Peak, I drove the length of Route 66 (twice) when it still was actually Route 66, I stood on the top of the Eiffel Tower, I was in the studio and saw The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, I have seen the St. Louis Arch, I have been to Graceland, I have been in a hot air balloon, I have read "To Kill A Mockingbird", and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," I have been in 11 countries, I have been to the Civil War battlefields Gettysburg, Shiloh, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville, I've seen the Cubs play in Wrigley Field, I've been to Appomattox where the surrender was signed, I've seen the VietNam Wall, I've been to the Lincoln Memorial, I've stood and gazed at the Hollywood sign, I've toured the White House, I have gone through The Christmas Story House, I have been to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame five times, I have been to Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. I have been to FBI headquarters. and seen the top ten most wanted on the Wall. I have been to the Mayberry Days celebration many times, I have met Don Knotts, Hal Smith, George Lindsay, Betty Lynn, and many others of the cast of The Andy Griffith Show, I have been to Key West, I've stood in two states at once, I have acted and directed in live theater, I have had a 7 course meal served to me in a Frank Lloyd Wright house, I own a Corvette, I've been to the grave of Hank Williams, Elvis, Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Lee, James Dean, and Gerald R. Ford. I've been to Spoon River, I have been to the childhood home of Helen Keller and stood next to the pump where the miracle happened, I've stood in front of "NightHawks at the Diner"by Edward Hopper, I saw the MC5 live, I saw "American Gothic" live and in person, I started "The Great Death List Society" and "The Armchair Football League" (a fantasy football league back in 1982 when nobody was doing this), I have been to the original Lambert's Cafe - home of the Throwed Rolls in Missouri, I've played pinball with Bruce Springsteen, I have seen Bob Dylan in concert four times, Mort Saul once, as well as George Carlin. I played pinball with Bruce Springsteen and have seen him in concert at least a dozen times. I knew all three of the "Flaming Rat" record store owners personally. I have been in the SUN studios and the FAME studios where virtually all of my favorite music (sans Beatles) was recorded. I've seen the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, The Surf Ballroom (the last place Buddy Holly ever played), and the Field of Dreams. I know who the Swampers, The Wrecking Crew, and The Lemon Fog are. I have been an entrant in ArtPrize in Grand Rapids. I have been to our nations archive and seen the real Constitution and the Declaration of Independence up close and personal.

All in all George Bailey, you've had a wonderful life.

She might have become stiller, but her legend lives on.

This week Ann Meara passed away.  She began her career as half of the comedy team of "Stiller and Meara" and in the early sixties they would often appear on the Ed Sullivan Show. That is where I first came to know them. They were supposed to be a comedy team, but honestly, how they ever made a living baffles me. They were not remotely funny. Not even a little bit. They could not even garner a smile out of me. But still I liked them. Why? Because they seemed like such real, genuine, and sincere people.

As we found out in subsequent years, the only reason they weren't hysterical back then is because they were totally in the wrong genre. Once they both began acting independently in TV sitcoms, their individual genius emerged. This leads me to believe that they both knew they had something, but just didn't know what it was.

Jerry Stiller is a man of great renown, appearing often on "Seinfeld", and being a regular on "King of Queens", both hits by any account. He still does guest shots in TV and movies and is wonderful every time.

But so did Ann Meara. She did wonderful work on a myriad of TV shows, and in fact got nominated twice for Emmy's for her work on "Archie Bunker's Place" - a follow up of "All In The Family."

I never met the Stillers. I never got to converse with Jerry, or his son Ben, or his daughter. And I never met his lovely bride of 61 years. But somehow I feel like I know them. And I would bet my last dollar that they are loving and adorable people.

Although I never had the privilege of meeting Ann Meara, I'll bet she was a sweet, loving person whose company I would have thoroughly enjoyed. I somehow in my gut just feel like we lost a wonderful lady this week. And I am confident in my estimation that Jerry Stiller is devastated.

So, hey, let's say a little prayer to help the family through this. Jerry, keep your chin up. You had 61 years with a wonderful lady.