RIP: To remember those lost to us, whether close or at large

[apl68]

Deleted, with apologies for hasty action, and moved to the "Asides" thread.

[AmLitHist]

Thanks for pointing out Bob Saget's passing, littlebongo.

He was a big part of our girls' growing-up years, between Full House and AFV. As some pointed out on CNN yesterday evening, he starred on two very popular shows at the same time, at a time when families watched t.v. together because, even with cable, that's how you consumed entertainment (i.e., no streaming or things like YouTube, etc.). I miss those days, and Bob Saget (among others) was a big part of them for our family.

[little bongo]

Thanks, AmLitHist--yes, great memories of AFV as well.

And for those who remember (or caught in reruns) The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, a nod to Dwayne Hickman. I wasn't born during the original run and did not catch it on reruns (except I have vague memories of seeing one episode where he shows off a new suit, thus upping his status). But somehow I wound up watching a reunion movie called "Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis," which lifted most of its plot from Durrenmatt's "The Visit" (although Dobie gave the audience a much happier ending).

[kaysixteen]

Nothing in the To Sir with Love song indicates an inappropriate relationship between student and teacher.   Really, it doesn't.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/21/entertainment/meat-loaf-obit/index.html

[AmLitHist]

Louie Anderson, aged 68, of cancer.

And Meat Loaf was part of the soundtrack to a couple of great summers of running around after dark, sitting uptown on the old Piggly Wiggly lot with our friends, and blasting our car stereos because there was nothing else to do in this little two-horse town, 40+ years ago.

[mahagonny]

Beegie Adair (1937-2022)
https://wkuherald.com/63307/news/beegie-adair-jazz-musician-and-distinguished-wku-alumna-passes-away-at-84/

[apl68]

We learned yesterday at the library that a longtime patron, one of our most familiar faces, died in a house fire the previous evening.  We had seen him at the library as usual just hours before it happened.  We're not sure what caused the fire, or how it was that he failed to escape.  He was only a few years older than I am, and not infirm.

[Harlow2]

How awful, APL.  So sorry

[bacardiandlime]

How awful, APL.  So sorry

Yes, what a shocking story. Sympathies.

[apl68]

He was an academic--the only one we had who regularly patronized our library.  He had adjuncted and did I don't know what all else at the nearest college, forty miles away.  He had even published a couple of books--real books, not print-on-demand self-published stuff--on very specialized topics.  He was the only person I could talk to locally who also knew what it was like to go through a PhD program in history (He actually got his degree), and we talked about it a time or two. 

The last time I really spoke with him, within just the last couple of weeks, he was trying to interest a publisher whom everybody here would recognize in a new book.  I suspect that any work he had done on that was lost in the fire with him.

We would all do well to remember that this present world could end for any one of us without warning at any time.  It is later than you think.

[paultuttle]

My uncle died yesterday at 88 years old. My mother is now the sole surviving sibling in her immediate family.

Extremely tall (more than 6.5 feet tall since his early teens) yet never intimidating, he was always genial, kind, and full of bonhomie. He grew up on a farm, milked cows, fed pigs and chickens, collected eggs, drove a tractor, joined glee clubs and sang in church, went to a well-regarded small liberal arts undergraduate institution and an even nicer graduate music conservatory, earned a PhD in music (voice), and became an opera singer and teacher.

He was known for his rich, full, deep bass-baritone voice. I have a copy of the one CD he made, and when I put it in the player and his voice comes out of the speakers it's like he's in the room, laughing and joking with you, his hand on your shoulder.

Once when I was little (in the late 1970s), we heard that he and my aunt had flown over to the United States for a little while, so we drove out to the old family farm (100 acres on USA Highway 1 and the Neuse River, 15 minutes north of Raleigh). Under the oak trees in the side yard sat an early 1970s Jaguar XKE 2+2 coupe, gleaming pearlescent white with a red leather interior, sitting on glittery delicate wire wheels, looking entirely incongruous next to the faded red and green farm tractors--just one example of how the man had style.

Wealth and travel didn't change who he was at heart (he was always warm, friendly, humble, down-to-earth, and personable to everyone he met). My mother's first comment after receiving the news and sitting stunned for an hour yesterday morning: "He was always such a nice boy. And man. I will miss him so much." Echoed, Mom, echoed.

[mamselle]

Condolences to both you and apl68.

The loss of close significant others, whether family or friend, is hard.

In "The Four Loves," C.S.Lewis noted that in addition to the person themselves, one loses that part of oneself that only that person knew (and I've thought, by corollary, the way one knew oneself in their presence.)

One mourns those losses for a long time.

M.

[little bongo]

Peter Robbins took his own life at age 65--he was the first child actor to perform the voice of Charlie Brown through the TV specials in the 1960s and the first movie, A Boy Named Charlie Brown.

It's hard to overstate the roles Charlie Brown and his gang had in my growing up--the books helped me learn to read, and the daily comic strips led me to the newspaper every morning. And on TV--that combination of blah outlook, constant failure, and rather paradoxically, sheer hope had a voice. Charlie Brown failed at pretty much everything, more than once, and that got him depressed, as failure often does. But at the same time, there was always this sense of, "This time. This time I'll talk to the little red-haired girl; this time I'll get a hit; this time I'll strike someone out... this time I'll kick that football. This time for sure." How does someone like that sound? As it turned out, he sounded like Peter Robbins: "Rats." "Good grief." "I got a rock." It was all there in his voice, and I was depressed with him, and I had hope with him and for him.

Peter Robbins the man ran out of "this time," somehow. He couldn't bring himself to take another kick at that football. But maybe somewhere, Charlie Brown can.

[mamselle]

RIP to Peter...but not to Charlie Brown.

Thank you for a beautiful encomium, Bongo.

M.