The world has seemed to your Head Trucker to be sliding inexorably downhill at an alarming rate for quite a long time now, but 2016 took the cake, and may be looked back on as a great watershed in history for all the wrong reasons.
What a terrible year it was - unspeakable horror and violence close to home and all around the globe, with some momentous turning points that bode very ill for the future of this nation and the world. These videos don't quite capture all of the jagged feelings and upsets we've been through this year, but I'm posting them here as a reminder to posterity - if there is any.
Some celebrities who died in the past year, not noted in the videos above, whom your Head Trucker remembers fondly for one reason or another:
Natalie Cole (died December 31, 2015, age 65)
The exquisite songbird, daughter of Nat King Cole
Dan Haggerty (d. January 15, age 73)
The big, burly, wonderfully bearded Grizzly Adams
Glenn Frey (d. January 18, age 67)
Co-founder of the Eagles and solo artist
Patty Duke (d. March 29, age 69)
The beloved Oscar winner, one half (or two?) of a pair of adorable "identical cousins"
Merle Haggard (d. April 6, age 79)
One of the great legends of country music
Alan Young (d. May 19, age 96)
A fine, underrated actor, who played Wilbur Post, owner of "the famous Mr. Ed"
Noel Neill (d. July 3, age 95)
The best Lois Lane ever
Robert Vaughn (d. November 11, age 83)
Who could forget the Man from U. N. C. L. E.?
Florence Henderson (d. November 24, age 82)
Beloved mom of the Brady Bunch
Bernard Fox (d. December 14, age 89)
The amusing Dr. Bombay on Bewitched
Zsa Zsa Gabor (d. December 18, age 99)
The one and only, dahling
George Michael (d. December 25, age 53)
Impossibly handsome, talented, and gay
Carrie Fisher (d. December 27, age 60)
Princess Leia, and a tough old survivor
Debbie Reynolds (d. December 28, age 84)
Unsinkably beautiful, talented, and glamorous at every step from fresh-faced youth to old age: one of the last real movie stars
Here is an affectionate tribute by Carrie to her mother that aired on Turner Classic Movies, circa 2012:
Saturday, December 31, 2016
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4 comments:
Best wishes, Russ, for the coming New Year,
The same to you, Davis.
As horrible as things were in the world around us in 2016, our personal lives were full of blessings, to use an over-used word. Hopefully we will continue to provide friendship and support to our neighbors, to share meals together, to enjoy the beauty of nature around us, remain as active as our old bodies allow, and to be ever mindful that our years here are short and may end at any moment.
I never looked upon January 1st as efficacious in itself to begin some new, significant changes, positive or negative, in world events or in our personal lives. Life and time are flowing rivers, and one day flows into the next.
"Happy New Year" is, I think, merely a polite convention, but "Happy New Year" none the less.
Sincere good wishes for the new year to you too, Frank. I'm happy to see that you snowbirds are thriving nicely there in your new desert home, so cozy but so different from New England. Now there's an idea for another book - compare and contrast? Think about it.
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