But wait, there’s more…
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Not to assume that all bad news comes in threes, but Billy Mays, whose voice is more recognizable than his name as the announcer for various commercials, died this morning (June 28). The NYT blog, Media Decoder, noted that Mays was born within six weeks of Michael Jackson (meaning he’s 50). The blogger called Mays the king of pitchmen. Is everyone whose going to die this week going to get some kind of marketing royal title?I am not as moved, of course. I am not going to play over and over again commercial pitchesfor Oxi Clean detergent. However, I was amused by a sole comment on this blog about May’s death, which says only, but wait, there’s more.One more note about Jackson’s death. In 1990, in fact, on May 15, Liz Taylor and Sammy Davis Jr were very sick and people were taking bets on who was going to die first. I came to work May 16 and I asked the news assistant whether or not Liz Taylor had died.
No, he said, Jim Henson died.
NO, I said, don’t joke about that.
Yes, I’m sorry, he said and walked away. Sammy Davis Jr. also died that same day. Liz Taylor recovered and lived to see another double header death day where the grim reaper skipped over her and tagged someone else.
However, I remember that double death day. I was sad about Sammy Davis Jr., but I was deeply grieved over Jim Henson. A newsmagazine’s editorial for that week read, “now who will show us the way to Sesame Street?”
I was in a toy store late last week and the music from the Muppet Movie was playing and I was still deeply moved.
Written by Paul Williams and used by Kermit the Frog, of The Muppets, Jim Henson ProductionsWhy are there so many songs about rainbows
And what’s on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,
And rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we’ve been told and some choose to believe it
I know they’re wrong, wait and see.
Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers and me.
OK, I’m done with the nostaglia.
By the way, something happened in Iraq on Wednesday and people have been having trouble finding out what it was. There is evidence it was very serious, but the media was overwhelmed with the death of Michael Jackson. That’s the problem with slow news months like June and July. The media jumps at the first story and the real story slithers away quietly and it’s left to the historians to sort through the BS, after the fact, and possibly long after it matters.
But wait, there’s more…
