the most poignant story of the day

this did me in. completely did me in.

LINCOLN CITY, Ore. - A 72-year old man died Sunday morning after he was swept out into the ocean while trying to rescue his dog off a Lincoln City-area beach.

Oregon State Police troopers say at about 9 a.m. the man was walking on the beach with his dog when he reportedly threw a stick into the water for his dog to retrieve. Witnesses say the dog got caught by a wave and was pulled toward the surf and the victim went to help his dog. Another wave hit the victim and pulled him away from the beach.

A witness attempted to save the victim but was unable to get him back to the beach.

North Lincoln Fire & Rescue arrived and a rescue swimmer reached the victim, bringing him back to shore where they started CPR. The man was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The man's dog was able to get back to shore and survived.

the knack's fieger dead at 57

doug fieger, lead singer and guitarist for the knack, died this morning. he had been battling both brain and lung cancer since 2004.

"Everybody knows they're going sooner or later. I don't know any better than anyone else when I'm going. I've had 10 great lives. And I expect to have some more. I don't feel cheated in any way, shape or form."

the knack's "my sharona" topped the billboard charts for 6 weeks in a row, and was the number 1 song of 1979.

a most important conversation

something vitally important to discuss with your parents, your loved ones, your family members, long before the situation arises. this is why the "death panel" debate is so infuriating and offensive: this is a serious, heavy issue that we should not be afraid to delve into in great detail. the decisions are never easy to make, but they are much easier if you've actually had the conversation.

farrah farewell

actress farrah fawcett has died, which brings to mind one of my favorite steve martin quotes:

"Boy oh boy, I am so mad at Farrah Fawcett-Majors. She is so conceited. She has never called me once. And after the hours I've spent holding up her poster with one hand! Geez!"

i was, of course, holding up a poster of john travolta.

in threes...?

the simple and the difficult

life offers up the most ludicrous, ridiculous situations sometimes.

no. often.

i’m supposed to be in milwaukee right now, directing “a year with frog and toad” for a great theater company called first stage milwaukee. at the “meet and greet” today i had very little to say, except that one of the things i love most about the original “frog and toad” stories by arnold lobel is how beautifully simple they are.

in the midst of that simplicity comes the difficulty of life.

instead of listening to a wonderful group of actors, young and old, learn and sing the music from the show (which is what i was doing an hour ago) i’m flying home to new york to see my partner rob, and spend a final evening with our dog reggie.

rob called me at 5:00 a.m. last sunday morning to say reggie had lost the use of his back legs, and couldn’t stand up. reggie has had health issues since we moved to new york, but nothing insurmountable. until now.

reggie has been with me since he was eight weeks old. in dog years, he’s now 92. when i went on tour with “mamma mia,” reggie joined me, traveling the country, living in hotels, and seeing more of the world than most human beings ever get to see.

he’s been lucky enough to have had three dads. steve, his first dad, died when reggie was just over a year old. rob’s been his dad since 2000. and me.

reggie and i have been through more together than most people i know. in terms of time, my relationship with reggie is surpassed only by my relationship with my mom and dad. i’ve put him through some tough times. and he’s put me through some too.

reggie’s also been unbelievably lucky to have an extended family like no other. so many people have taken care of him, loved him, stayed with him. picked up his poop. i wish i could name them all, but i know i’d forget that one person, and i don’t want to do that.

in the end, it was rob who carried him down the stairs of our fourth floor walk up, to our friends tim and michael’s waiting car, to take him to the dog hospital, where he’s been for the last two days. reggie couldn’t ask for a better dad than rob. rob has been the one in the thick of things, not only now, but many, many other times. cleaning up. taking care. of reggie, and me.

i’ve said goodbye to my fair share of people in life. my grandma clements. my friend lou hammer. steve. my mom.

this is so, so different. anyone who’s been there knows. anyone who has only looked in from the outside has no idea. none. losing him is like nothing i’ve ever experienced. he’s been my buddy, and my pal. and my good ol’ reggie. and i’ll miss him every day.

scumbag of the day

i've been trying hard not to wade into this crap, because i think half the battle against these bozos is not giving them more publicity. but let's be realistic here -- my blog gets about 30 hits a day, okay? so here goes:

this man, in my opinion, is a scumbag.

i could go thru the whole story, but think progress already has. this is what john gibson did on his nationally syndicated radio talk show about an hour after the news of heath ledger's death:

opening his radio show with funeral music yesterday, fox news host john gibson callously mocked the death of actor heath ledger, calling him a “weirdo” with a “serious drug problem.”

playing an audio clip of the iconic quote, “i wish i knew how to quit you” from ledger’s gay romance movie brokeback mountain, gibson disdainfully quipped, “well, he found out how to quit you.” laughing, gibson then played another clip from brokeback mountain in which ledger said, “we’re dead,” followed by his own, mocking “we’re dead” before playing the clip again.

heath ledger was 28 years old when he died.

i didn't know him.
i didn't even know people who knew him.
he might have been a complete asshole.

i do know that i was struggling with a serious substance abuse problem at 27. with the support of good friends and community, i came through it. typically, people go thru some major shift in their lives around age 27 - 28. jim morrison, janis joplin, jimi hendrix, brian jones, kurt cobain...all committed suicide at 27.

that anyone could find humor in such a tragic death so soon after it occurred is sad at best.

wait a day. wait a week.
wait two hours.


UPDATE 8:30 pm -- gibson continued to joke about ledger's death this afternoon on his radio show --

JOHN GIBSON: There is a war on Gibson. And, eventhough Gibson’s always right, there is a war.

ANNOUNCER: The war against Gibson continues.

GIBSON: Thought we were gonna do that next hour, but just to give you a heads up about it, I did this, an hour yesterday on Heath Ledger on my TV show because he was like, still warm. I got an e-mail Angry Rich just moments ago…

ANGRY RICH: Yeah.

GIBSON: From somebody who said that I was just a horrible lowlife, awful person for mocking the death..da da da da da da…News!

ANGRY RICH: John, the start of yesterday’s show is now prominently featured on ThinkProgress, the George Soros operation, yes.

GIBSON: What did…

ANGRY RICH: It says, “John Gibson Mocks ‘Weirdo’ Heath Ledger’s Death.”

GIBSON: Did I mock him?

ANGRY RICH: “He Found Out How To Quit You.” Quote-unquote.

GIBSON: Oh, that. Ha ha ha, well…

ANGRY RICH: A little satire.

GIBSON: Yeah, it’s a little Brokeback Mountain joke.

UPDATE 8:40 pm -- gibson began his fox television show this evening with an apology. listen, i'm all for forgiveness, but read what he said today, then listen to what he said tonight, and tell me what you think.

in threes