Looking back at the past year; its time to say a fond farewell to some old friends and things that left us in 2009. and we look at some milestones in certain lives that we talked about as well.
From the pages of "UT&MR"; Last April we left County General and ER for the last time. Later in the month John Madden, the dean of NFL analysts and a Pro Football Hall of Famer, announced his retirement from broadcasting. And on the 22nd of April, I published REMEMBERING THE ACE, dedicated to the memory of by uncle, who passed away days before.
On May 11 of 2009 the ever pixie-ish Martha Quinn turned 50 (no, I don't believe it either). On the same day, Mort Sahl, the Godfather of Political Humor, celebrated his 82nd birthday. And "Yes Man" Rick Wakeman hit age 60 on May 18th, while the fantastic Joe Cocker turned 65 on May 20th.
On June 1st General Motors filed for bankruptcy.
And later in June we lost blues legend Koko Taylor and actor David Carradine. June 28th saw the loss of Billy Mays, the King of the Pitchmen.
But it was June 22, 2009 that could truly be called The Day The Icons Died; we lost Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson within hours of each other.
July 16th saw the 60th wedding anniversary of my parents.
Detroit Lions Hall of Famer Lou Creemur died on July 8th of this year. He's famous in my family for breaking my Dad's nose in football practice back in the 1940's.
July 1st gave us the announcement that Mississippi was The Fattest State of the Union.
July 2nd showed Jeff Goldblum on The Colbert Report, confirming his own death, which he first read about on TWITTER.
And on July 3rd Sarah Palin announced she would resign the governorship of Alaska. She has so many books to write and so little time.
July 22nd was the 203rd birthday of Cleveland, Ohio. July 23rd marked the end of my Too Old To Rock and Roll- Too Young To Die classic rock blog.
Gidget, the TACO BELL chihuahua, went to the Big Dog House In The Sky on July 24th. She was 15.
"The Most Trusted Man in America", Walter Cronkite, passed on on July 17th at age 92. Folk legend Pete Seeger celebrated his 90th birthday on August 2nd.
My former pastor and family friend Msgr. Michael J. Alliegro passed away at the relatively young age of 62 after a long fight against leukemia on August 18th. And legendary guitarist and inventor Les Paul died at age 94 on August 13th.
And on August 26th Ted Kennedy, "The Lion of the Senate", died from the brain cancer that he had been fighting for more than a year. He was 77 years old.
On September 9th a little known congressman from South Carolina named Joe Wilson disgraced himself and the House of Representatives when he yelled "You lie" to President Barack Obama as he addressed a joint session of Congress.
Soupy Sales died at age 83 on October 23rd, taking Pookie, White Fang, and Black Tooth with him. October 15th gave us Falcon Heene and the Balloon Boy fiasco.
Roger Goodell didn't think he'd be a suitable owner for the NFL. But the Miss America organization wasn't scared off by Rush Limbaugh- they announced he would be a pageant judge on October 21st.
On November 3rd Chris Christie was elected as New Jersey governor. The next day the New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies to win their 27th World Championship. The following day saw the tragedy at Fort Hood, Texas.
December gave us the announcement of FSU head coach Bobby Bowden's departure coaching. And on December 4th we said Goodbye to Mister Monk, our favorite obsessive- compulsive detective.
And Furthermore.... 2009 saw the presidency of Mr. Obama, our first African American chief executive. It also gave us new words to the American lexicon, like "birther" and "tea bagger". We had a foiled Christmas Day terror attack, and an expansion of the war in Afghanistan. We went gaga over Lady Gaga, and Taylor Swift became everybody's fave (except Kanye West's).
We saw old friend Queen Bea end her blog, and Miss Moss step up to fill the void.
And I was surprised to learn of the end of The Neil Rogers Show earlier this year in Miami. Neil was a fixture in Miami radio for more than 30 years, and I thought he was one of the funniest (and irreverent) people on the planet. He was one of the most influential radio personalities in the country, yet he never left the South Florida market and avoided syndication or going national on several occasions. He was a true original, a "thinking man's Howard Stern", and he'll be impossible to replace, but will be remembered with a smile.
Thanks to all who have visited this blog in the past year....we hope to give you more entertainment in 2010 and beyond.
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