How About Changing Veterans Day to No War Day?

(attempts) – (failures) = success

While exercising Sunday I caught Andy Rooney on the venerable 60 Minutes, someone who I have not seen on the air in years. He looks slightly different, sounds the same and  apparently still makes pretty convincing arguments.

His pitch this week was about Veterans Day. Rooney, a vet from World War II, had eight friends from his school class pass away in the last of the world wars and over sixty years later it seems he still feels pain at their death. His proposal was a simple one--change the 11th to No War Day.

I am results oriented and that is why I embrace science as a tool to determine what really works. As a scientist, and a historian, I can guarantee that war absolutely does not. No war in history has ever resolved anything without creating consequences that make more wars happen. Pain is transmitted and inherited via assaults and attacks. And while it may take generations or centuries to arise, retaliation in one form or another most certainly will.

One thing more. Mr. Rooney was roundly criticized on the CBS website for this  piece and I want to come to his defense. Many criticized him for dishonoring the memory of the dead. All I can think is if those men and women who did die for some patch of land in some war could speak for themselves, most would feel the same way. The eleventh can be a tribute to those who died and also a plea to make it a day we eventually will not have to celebrate ever again.

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Ed McMahon, RIP

Ed McMahon, the long-time co-host of Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, has just passed away. For generations Mr. McMahon made many smile with his winning personality and his infectious laugh in a time when television was the dominant social media. As he once told the New York Times, “I laugh for an hour and then go home, I’ve got the world’s greatest job.”

Rest in peace Mr. McMahon.

Time passes. Make the most of yours.



© David Ezell 2009
All Rights Reserved

Eartha Kitt RIP

I just got an e-mail from a friend that I did not want to see...Eartha Kitt has passed.

I am not, for the most part, a participant in our celebrity culture. That said, I loved Eartha Kitt, as much as one can love someone they have only seen from afar. She was the personification of energy and life. What a loss for us all.

I am proud to say I saw her at the famous Blue Note a few years ago and it was well worth the price. She brought so much joy into the room that night. I loved it and have often told stories about her performance--especially when she called a sweet looking waiter over and asked, "how old are you?"

He replied, "21."

She murmurred, "is anyone 21 anymore?" It was a set up, but I loved it.

One thing more I remember that night. How gracious she was afterwards, signing autographs and talking...my friend and I saw her outside the club long after it had closed and gone dark, still signing and smiling a laughing.

She was a one of a kind. Rest in peace dear Eartha.

Times passes. Make the most of yours.