A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago

DEATH'S NELL: The tribute to Nell Carter in this week's The Stranger is well worth your time. Why? As William Stephen Humphrey's piece concludes:

Death is worth obsessing over. It's worth moping around, and crying, and then laughing, and being utterly speechless. And those who truly loved life -- as Nell Carter so plainly did -- are they to be so suddenly forgotten? And if Nell Carter is to be forgotten, then shall we also forget the Punky Brewsters, the Tony Danzas, and the Charles in Charges?

Shall we forget the Mr. Belvederes?

No, they will NOT be forgotten, and neither will Nell Carter. Because she wasn't just a fleeting summer. She was the crisp autumn, the snows of December, the tornadoes of March, the darling buds of May. She was an eon of seasons--and even though we were gifted with only six seasons of Gimme a Break!, that will never, ever be enough.

Words are condemned to fail. Memories of those we love are destined to live. And during this dark time of national mourning, we must remember that we've been given "the break" Nell Carter had always asked for -- an everlasting summer of memories. Or at the very least, reruns.