May 21

Got a little nostalgic last night.

Watched a couple of Letterman shows that we had taped.

Sorry. Recorded. DVR'd.

Realized that his last show will air on Wednesday, May 20.

That is right around the goddamn corner.

We are not taping the shows because the end is near (although we have accelerated the pace), we have always taped the man.

Love his sense of humor. Love his relationship with the guests. Love his goofiness, his self deprecating attitude, even though the man resides at the top of the mountain.

Over the years, Carol would check to see who David's guests were (musical as well as interview), and if they interested us she would tape the show.

It was in our pocket and ready to dial up whenever we needed a laugh.

The man always delivered the laugh. That most easy going way to ignore the truth of your existence and just let go.

Letterman talked about the impending end on both shows we watched last night.

The reality slapped me in the face.

When Leno was around you were either a Letterman fan or a Leno fan.

In my humble opinion Leno was boring. If you preferred Leno I will take bets that you are a boring, predictable, by the rules, no sense of humor take yourself too seriously, well behaved, less intelligent individual.

That would explain why Leno beat Dave in the ratings. The American public.

I am not saying Leno is not funny. He made me laugh. But there was something missing.

Too clean, too polished, too easy to swallow.

Letterman is edgy. He is goofy. He is unpredictable. He is self effacing. He is intelligent and remarkably well informed.

Letterman is what life should be. Leno is what life is.

Letterman is 68. I am 61. Part of the hole I already feel at his leaving is that I cannot connect with today's late night hosts.

They are funny as hell. They make me laugh. They are irreverent (except for Fallon).

But they are young. Much younger than me.

They reference things and people that I know nothing about.

That forces me to confront the decades that have passed in my life.

Along with everything else he brought to the table, Dave brought me comfort.

I missed Carson's last shows. Carol did not. She is much tougher than me and could stay up until 12:30 or 1:00 on a school night.

To this day, she still talks about the last two shows. With awe and reverence in her voice.

Shows that I saw in replay, but not live.

I won't make the same mistake this time.

We are taping like crazy. I will probably stay up on Monday and Tuesday, May 18 and 19. I will definitely stay up on Wednesday, May 20.

When Carson stepped down everyone called it the end of an era. It was definitely the end of the career of the greatest talk show host ever. But it never felt like the end of an era to me.

When David Letterman steps down it will unmistakably bring about the end of an era.

The new shows have different formats (to some extent). The new hosts are completely different animals. Connected to social media and the young. Directly plugged into the very todayness of today.

We watched two shows last night. The interviewees were  Scarlett Johansson, and Robert Downey Jr. The music was provided by John Mellencamp and Elvis Costello.

And it will only get better from here.

The guests go out of their way to acknowledge Dave's impact on TV, his personality, his sense of humor and his genuineness.

It is obvious that they respect him and appreciate him.

Sarah Jessica Parker was on recently. She essentially stopped the show to take the time to talk about what Dave has meant to late night TV, to humor, and to the people who sat next to him on that stage.

It was cool.


David Letterman is an icon. A giant in the entertainment world. An exceptionally funny man. A connection to a time that means something to people my age.


May 21 is going to suck.