Send not to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee. ~ John Donne
First, the bell tolled for the King of Sidekicks,
and it tolled for a perfect pace,
And then the bell tolled for a TV Angel,
and it tolled for a heavenly face,
And then the bell tolled for the King of Pop,
and it tolled for an elegant grace,
And now the bell tolls for the lowly pitchman,
and it tolls for the human race.
-- Robert Brault
11 comments:
Amen
Well said. What a great tribute.
It's amazing the talent the world has lost in just the past few days. Of course with Ed and Farrah we knew it was coming, but Michael and Billy were a shock, especially since Billy was just on Conan a couple nights before he died.
All,
Thanks for your comments. It is hard to talk about death, and impossible to make sense of a coincidence of deaths. I kind of felt that the death of Billy Mays was the one that puts us most in mind of our own mortality, because he was everywhere, all the time, and seemed to epitomize our focus on things of this world.
smiles all,
rn
I guess I need to know who Ed and Billy are.
You really have a talent for arranging words to evoke the desired emotion.
Ken,
Thanks -- Ed McMahon and Billy Mays were well-known TV personalities in the USA, McMahon the smooth sidekick of comedian Johnny Carson on the "Tonight" show, Mays an energetic pitchman on cable TV "infomercials", selling miracle cleaners and all manner of kitchen gadgetry. Mays died suddenly at age 50.
smiles,
rb
Thanks for the info.
I see a lot of death certificates (before they re-packaged me) and am alarmed at how many people younger than me are dying. 50 is far too young!
Good Evening!
I love what this photographer wrote about last week's news.
I hope he doesn't mind my quoting him.
http://pointsoflight.blogspot.com/2009/06/twisted-thoughts-on-monday-morning.html
:Would Michael or Billy have made the same kind of impact in their lines of work if they thought and behaved like everyone else? I doubt it. The same-thinking crowd recognizes that creativity is valuable. That’s why they make reference to it frequently in conferences, staff meetings and on job descriptions. The truth is, if they were to experience the full force of a truly creative person, it would scare them to death. Real “thinking outside the box” changes the box forever, and very few people are comfortable with that prospect:
James Jordan
It's a great read on creativity.
Personally, I think many creative people that become celebrities are also tortured people... NO Peace.
I hope they found a glimmer of it in their short years...and entered fully into it as they passed on. ~Maria
Maria,
Yes, I think this is a true observation about the impact creative people have upon those about them. They make it very uncomfortable. And the price you pay for thinking outside the box is that you end up outside the box, alone and tortured, as you rightly observe.
I like your last sentence.
smiles,
rb
Um, MJ was the king of *Pop*, GrandBob. Elvis was the King of Rock & Roll.
Lovely sentiment though.
I still have no idea who Billy Mays was, even after googling. But I made everybody watch MJ videos all last weekend, even while the Red Sox were playing on the other channel. He moved like a dream.
Suz,
King of Pop? Isn't that a Rice Krispie? Gosh, I hate it when I do this. This is worse than the 8-track-mouth reference a while back. And here I thought I had caught up to the music of the 80's.
If you never caught Billy Mays on Saturday cable, then where did you get your last all-purpose-miracle-combo-potato-peeler-and-hair curler? You don't pay retail, do you?
Anyway, Suz. Great to hear from the family. X's and O's to all.
GBob
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