Three New Eternal Stars

Ed McMahon - 1923-2009
Farrah Fawcett - 1947-2009
Michael Jackson - 1958-2009

This 25th week of 2009 will go down as perhaps the most Earth-shattering newsweeks that we have experienced since the terrorist attacks of 2001.

It began with the passing of a true legend in my book, Ed McMahon, former sidekick of the late Johnny Carson and the host of Star Search and co-anchor of the MDA Labor Day Telethon alongside Jerry Lewis. And to top that off, he was a true American in every way. Outside of the Tonight Show, I will always remember Ed for sponsoring those Budweiser commercials as well as the Bicentennial year of 1976, when he hosted a series of specials reliving the times when the United States declared independence from England. I was in Europe at the time of course, but the Armed Forces Network also aired those specials, about a week or two after NBC did.

God Bless him...I'm sure he's up there now introducing Johnny Carson like he famously did in the past.


Farrah Fawcett possessed beauty, brains, and talent, plus being down to Earth as well. Don't believe what these yahoos or haters would negatively say about her. As far as I know, there was not one single inch of hatred in her body; and every woman and young girl who admired Farrah wanted to emulate Farrah. Heather Locklear was probably the closest of anybody to have done just that. Erin Gray was another who, like Farrah, was down to Earth and had natural beauty. She still does to this day - inside and out. Lydia Cornell, Lisa Hartman, Anne Lockhart, Maren Jensen (if anybody remembers her), Jayne Kennedy, Deborah Shelton and Susan Anton were in that same class too at the height of their careers.

Above all of that, she was brave...very brave. She was determined to beat cancer - I had thought she did, but it came back, and now she's an Eternal Angel.


Michael Jackson. I don't know how to describe this. I didn't know of his name until the late-70s. Of course I knew who the Jackson Five were when I was 6, but never knew their names. It wasn't really until they became simply "The Jacksons" when I heard the name Michael Jackson. What a talent - some 40 years of it. The MJ I prefer to remember was before 1985 - even back to 1979...this 20-year old striking out on his own with a hit record. I sort of wonder if fame and fortune got to his head after Thriller. The record was the best-selling album of all-time - overall, he sold 750,000,000 albums - the second best solo artist of all time in rock music (behind Elvis), and third overall in the rock world (behind Elvis and The Beatles).

Michael's personality began to change, just like the Thriller video. His face changed from all of those plastic surgeries he had to a frightening one...and he looked so fragile too. I'm sure he was estatic about going back out on tour before his death - which to me today is a mystery.

At first it was stated that he dropped dead of a heart attack. Now its being told that prescription drugs may be the contributing factor to his collapse and subsequent death. Those questions won't be answered for a few days - did he die of a heart attack, drug overdose, or worse-case scenario: did he possibly commit suicide? I can't imagine him doing the latter, so I'll rule that out.

In any event, it's a sad week all the way around. Los Angeles right now is like Memphis in 1977 - people have been gathering all over - even hanging out by the Coroner's office in Boyle Heights to see a glimpse of MJ's body. Stations played MJ songs non-stop in tribute, and others hung out by the home where he collapsed - which believe it or not I delivered bottled water to back in 2005 and 2006. Unbelievable - life at that home will never be the same again.

$$

Enjoy the weekend, everybody. Be good to one another, and always reach for the stars. Most importantly, live life to the fullest and never...ever take life for granted.

RD NOTES - June 16 2009

A few things to pass on...

Today marks the 32nd anniversary of my return to the United States from Europe. These days, it seems like a century ago when I was there. We left Bitburg way early in the morning at that time; had the Smith (?) family take us to Frankfurt Airport (since the Scout was already on its way back to the United States by ship), and we left Frankfurt sometime about 8 or 9 in the morning en route to New York. One big mistake - I should've slept. A word to the wise to those who travel by air for 5 hours or more: sleep.

We got to JFK around 2 in the afternoon, Eastern Time, then boarded another plane to fly to Charleston, SC; and we spent a couple days there while my dad retrieves the Scout. After that it was on to Sylacauga, AL to visit my grandparents, cousins, uncles etc. for about two weeks or so - then around July 1st it was time to take the I-20 West towards El Paso, TX for our second stint there, which lasted a little more than 3 1/2 years.

So some pre-Las Vegas stuff to share with you. It may have been better going that route, because when we went to Europe in 1975, we actually drove from El Paso to Sylacauga, and from there to New York - but not before spending a week or so in Hammonton. Going back the other way saved probably about two to three days worth of driving, plus we were on time restraints, as my dad needed to be in Fort Bliss right after the holidays.

Amazingly enough, families we knew in Bitburg actually relocated to Fort Bliss during that 3-plus year time span - two or three that I know of; one of which later re-stationed to Fort Hood.

$$

The Lakers' NBA championship parade will be tomorrow at 11 AM - and will begin in Downtown Los Angeles at the Staples Center, then will converse south on Figueroa past USC and end at the Coliseum, where there will be a post-parade celebration there. The Olympic Torch will be lit for this one. I'll tell you one thing: that post-victory celebration last Sunday was pretty scary and at times, became violent. You know the story there from the posts that day.

The Evil Empire who once upon a time was beaten 22-4 badly turned the table and pounded the Mets 15-0 Sunday at Yankee Stadium. The Mets' pitcher, Johan Santana, was lit up for 9 runs, all earned, 9 hits, gave up a home run, walked two and struck out three. That certainly won't help your ERA with games like this. And to top it off, the Mets manager was kicked out of the game for arguing with the ump on questionable strike calls. The Red Sox took one under the chin, losing 11-6 to the Phils, so their lead against these bums have been cut to two games.

L.A.'s team is still America's Team - 42 and 22 - best record in the Majors with a 7 1/2 game lead on the Giants. The Rockies though are trying to make a run - they've won 11 in a row and are one game under .500.

Hope everybody's enjoying the cool weather both in So Cal and in Las Vegas. It is expected to be warmer in Vegas towards the 2nd half of the week, with temps possibly reaching 100 degrees on Friday. There is a slight chance for hit-and-miss showers and thunderstorms...a true rare event for this time of year, as Vegas is normally dry during the month of June, with the real action usually right after the 4th of July holidays. I do have a feeling that Las Vegas will have its coolest summer in some 27 years. Still early to say that of course...

Out here, its been June Gloom for the most part - the sun has come out a few times, but overall a cool June with drizzle and light rain here and there.

Well that's all for now - enjoy the rest of the work week. Eighteen days and counting before the 4th. Firework stands I'm sure are already up at every street corner in Vegas. :)

RD

June 1 2009 edition

First off, thanks for the well wishes from my brief sniffle. I did have a slight fever of 100.4, but that drop to about 97 afterwards. It's a real bummer I couldn't do much this weekend - hopefully Pat and the gang had a great Saturday night at Timber's. I do know some others went to Griffin's - talk about a battle of where to go...

I will say this about The Hills' last episode as I know it: they started out as young men and women waiting to earn their wings, and now the time has arrived to fly. Lauren will do well with her clothing line, books, and so on - she can pretty much own Laguna at this point. Heidi and Spencer - or Sonny & Cher II tied the knot in Pasadena (of all places!). I see it this way, all of us had to step up to the plate to make it. Whitney Port is doing that now in New York as we speak, and the USC Trojan alum has a pretty good future ahead of her. Cheryl decided that L.A. was the place for her almost 20 years ago, and look where she's at now. I took that chance in 2000 myself, and after a struggle of some eight years, I'm slowly heading towards a great future here myself. Eventually one day I may join Cheryl and Lydia in some projects, time permitting of course...

For the youngins, I encourage you to do the same. As the Steve Winwood song goes, whie you see a chance, take it.

You know, I am somewhat moved by those who remember me for the Scout than anything else. It makes me want to find a reconditioned Scout and buy it. Hard to find these days of course, but The Scout was a part of my family for 15 years. The Gold one...the '72 Scout...we took to Europe, and never - ever had a single problem with it, outside of some moron screwing it up while it was transported from Europe to the United States. The '79 Scout, we bought that before we moved to Nevada in '81. Both times we traded a Ford F-100 pickup.

I can imagine how the Scouts were used here in So Cal - back in the day when you could take 'em to the beach. Can't do that anymore, of course, but that was back in the day when you could do almost anything out here...

With that said, busy month coming up. If you ever get a chance to hear Michael Sweet and Susanna Hoffs CD, give it a listen. While they did this record some time ago, it was a recreation of some great classic 60s and 70s hits - California sound at its finest. They are going to do another CD together later on this year with more covers. Good for them.

Lastly, a couple in North Carolina will be celebrating a Golden Wedding anniversary this month. I won't say much, but let's just say he was the guy that used to turn aces and deuces on a popular 1970s game show on NBC and later became a sensational salesman on an instant bargain show years later. More on that next time around.

Till then...

Rob