20/05/2015- Song River
Dear David Letterman,
You have been on my mind as
of late. We all know the exit is stage right, and you have earned this
countdown. Thanks for the memories.
Sincerely,
America
Whether you love him or hate him, he has become a part of my
generation's pop culture. He, his guests, Paul Shaffer and the CBS
Orchestra, have delivered a part of our existence up to this point in
time. With wit, jeers, and a bit of cynical bastardizing pokes at
well... life...us.
I must admit in the last few years I
have not been an avid viewer, life has a tendency to get rather busy,
but I was recalling the earlier years when it was a ritual, much like
the ritual passed down to me by my mamo who adored and never missed
an episode of..."Here's Johnny!" (My mamo would fix her
plate of mac n cheese, with polish sausages, light up her cig, pour
her diet tab and sit in her plush rust orange swirling rocking chair, and adjust the rabbit ears on her Zenith color TV. It was her period of
heaven on earth nightly with Johnny). I remember her watching the
last airing, she wept, as she spoke of the days of her beloved music
idol, Frank Sinatra's, appearances on Johnny's show, and the glory days of
all that was Carson. Then it was the next generation's turn, and the
likes of Jay Leno came onto the scene and stepping up to the plate
came this awkward, lanky, gapped tooth man...who was immediately
likable. Sometimes his humor seemed to be more out of anger, at what
I was never sure, other times he reminded me of an old man
wanting to yell at the audience, "GET OFF MY LAWN YOU STUPID
KIDS!" He seemed testy to me, an overt petulance, a crusty late
night cars salesman, never warm and fuzzy, never a sunny rosy cheeked
dimple. Yet, I couldn't help but watch as each time I waited for the
Top 10 Countdowns. It was The David Letterman Show.
In the early days it was rumored that
Letterman would self-destruct or implode. I think his anxiety levels
showed, maybe that is why we liked him, he was that lovable crank,
we could identify with his angst. A-type personalities and show biz are
like oil and water- yet when they finally make a break through
something unimaginable happens, awesomeness, Late Night.
Some may say 33 years of Late Night is
admirable, some will say good riddance, and some will wistfully
recall their Top 10 Countdowns as a way of honoring what not only
David has given, but an entire staff, many who have spent over 20
years in the same pod.
Booger it... change is hard.
Jimmy Fallon and others like Conan,
Colbert, Oliver, Stewart, Meyers, and so on will come and go or have
already exited their own stage... but Letterman, well to be honest
feels a little more like Carson to me.
Thanks for the memories in this very
brief letter David. Thanks for being who you are, I think your
projection of being uncomfortable, OCD directive, made all of us feel
a little better about our own quirkiness.
Signing off, but you're not done yet. I
hear Belize is looking for a lounge lizard announcer who likes their martinis very dry.
You'll be missed sir.
Top 10 Reasons Why?
I will leave each viewer to their own
lists.
