4:58 pm - Sat 12/30/06
They're Dropping Like Flies

Lots of death in the news lately--James Brown, Gerald Ford, Hussein being executed.

And most upsetting of all? "Lionel Jefferson" is dead.

I kid--a little--but while none of these deaths have hit me very hard, I did feel a little sad for Mike Evans, from The Jeffersons. He was only fifty-seven, I think it was, and that's not seeming very old to me these days.

And as an actor, I wonder how he felt, with his "glory days", such as they were, so far behind him.

My responses to the other three deaths are surprisingly simple to describe:

1. James Brown--I don't think it's overstating things to say he was a pivotal figure in American popular music, right there with the Beatles, Elvis, Chuck Berry, etc. But his heyday was really before my time, so like when Brando died, I'm aware of the impact he had on other performers I like, more than I feel a personal impact from his death.

2. Gerald Ford--His death mostly makes me feel old, since I remember him taking over after Nixon resigned, while most of my ArcLight coworkers weren't born yet.

3. Hussein--Not particularly saddened by his death, but there doesn't seem to be much point to it, either. Seeing him with a noose around his neck, in my opinion, is not worth the American lives it cost. It was something the people of Iraq should have done for themselves.

And now, while we're on the subject of death, I have to go off to the "living death" otherwise known as my job...

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