August has a reputation as a slow-news month. It's not true. Maybe it's because much of the world is on vacation and just doesn't notice. Maybe it's that so many little details get lost in the bigger pictures. World War I started in August. In 1945, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and the end of the war happened in August. In 1969, it was Charles Manson and company. In 1977, Groucho Marx's death was lost in the shuffle when Elvis died. Hurricanes happen in August. And this year, the enormity of Katrina and its thousands of deaths overshadow two other losses that bracket events in New Orleans:
- Bob Moog succumbed to brain cancer on August 21.
- Bob Denver succumbed to cancer on September 2.
I find it very difficult to absorb the thought of 10,000 dead in New Orleans. I can't visualize the individuals in a number that big. But one person here, one person there, each of whom I feel somehow connected to, and my eyes get misty.
When I called Big Briar to check on my theremin order ten years ago, Bob Moog answered the phone himself, and told me my order had just shipped. The man who started the synthesizer revolution answered his own phone. I never had that kind of contact with Bob Denver, but I enjoyed Gilligan's Island; I always connected with images of tropical islands, and one populated with a Ginger and a Mary Ann (Mary Ann!), well, that was special. Even more than Gilligan, I enjoyed Maynard G. Krebs. Goofy, clueless, but loyal and devoted. What a friend. I wish a fond farewell to both Bobs.
9:17:54 PM 
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