Goodbye to Doors cofounder Ray Manzarek.

RIP Dave Brubeck. "Take Five" live in Germany 1966

Goodbye Gore Vidal

It's personal: a "You've Got Mail" moment in honor of Nora Ephron

A fantastic retort to the old refrain: "Don't take it personally." Go with God, Nora Ephron, and may I just say, "snap!"

Ray Bradbury on the occasion of Farewell Summer

Celebrating and saying goodbye to Ray Bradbury today. Words can't express. I'll borrow a few of his.

From ON THE OCCASION OF FAREWELL SUMMER:
"ON THE OCCASION OF FAREWELL SUMMER I can only send good wishes to myself.

Please excuse me, but when I realize this coming week is the publication of FAREWELL SUMMER, which began more than 55 years ago, I can hardly believe it. Indeed, it was even further back. It was when I was 22 and, you might say, put on my first pair of tennis shoes, and ran like crazy.

I was fully in love with writing from grade school on and in high school I began to write things about the ravine in my hometown. In FAREWELL SUMMER the ravine is the center of everything; the old people and the young live on opposite sides of this ravine that divides the town.

...I wish all of you the best in reading it because I had delight in realizing that my ganglion and my antenna are still functioning and the darned thing makes, I believe, a good read.

I send all of you my love,
Ray Bradbury
October 11, 2006"

But you know what I love? He died last night during the Transit of Venus. That seems appropriate.

Doc Watson storytelling and "Sittin' On Top of the World"

"Gotta Get a Message to You" (Go with God, Robin Gibb.)

I can't take this recent celebrity death parade. Eras ending all around. :(

Maurice Sendak on life, death and best friends

Thanks for the rumpus, Maurice Sendak

Trying to find words to express how I feel about the death of Maurice Sendak. Huge gift to my life. Huge gift to my kids' lives.

Where the Wild Thing Are was the very first book I bought with my own money. It was 1968. I earned $5 singing at the Bike-o-Rama and spent $2 on a paperback of this book I'd stared at for hours in the public library. I was thrilled to have my own copy and drew my own illustrations in most of the white spaces. I think Mr. Sendak would have approved of this.

Over the years, I staged several versions of WTWTA with various children's theatre troupes and after school arts programs. Always a big hit, as it required each child to make his/her own wild thing costume from trash bags, construction paper, yarn, egg cartons, etc. Also required: wild rumpasing. The kids had a lot of fun, and the parents had rich home movie fodder.

When I was working on Sugarland, I took a trompe l'oeil class, and painted my pantry door for practice, recreating scenes from In the Night Kitchen, which had recently caused a huge argument between me and another PTO mommy at my kids' school because of the little boy's penis. My kids adored that book and insisted I steal the pantry door right off the hinges when we moved out of that house.

Maurice Sendak's influence on my life and art is mostly subliminal, but very strong. He was brave and unique in a way that called on each of us to know our own bravery and uniqueness.

I'm just so glad to have shared my world with this wildly wonderful artist and so grateful that he shared his world with me.

Go with God, William Gay