Billy Mays, another tragic passing

Rest in Peace Billy Mays

                                                      

As you may or may not have heard, famed tv pitchman Billy Mays was found dead in his home sunday morning.  In all of the chaos with all of the celebrity deaths in the past 2 weeks - Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson, Billy Mays comes as the greatest shock to me.  Certainly all of you are familiar with his face and many of his products - you probably have several in your home and may not even realize it!  I too had "seen him around" but knew little about him until hubby started watching hie show on the Discovery channel with Anthony Sullivan called "Pitchmen".  

It wasn't until I started watching it with him that I gained a whole new respect for the man and what he did in his chosen profession - as well as the products he "pitched".  He and Anthony "Sulli" Sullivan made a great team and the show was really entertaining!  It followed them all over the place as they met with inventors, evaluated products, worked with backers/investors and produced their tv pitch spots.  The whole process was fascinating and I was surprised at how much work goes on before they even consider producing something for tv.  They also are both super guys who really have huge hearts and did a lot to help others.  Billy Mays and his powerful personality will be missed!  If you get a chance, check out this clip from them on Conan.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0cB_6JGyRg

You will be missed.

Dear Paul..

 

Dear Paul,

You made many hearts flutter with your gorgeous baby blues.  You championed many causes, made others aware simply by putting your name in front of ith to get their attention, chose to be a real man rather than a womanizer (which would have been any easy choice) and stayed with your lovely wife through thick and thin, filled many pantries and refrigerators with your fabulous foods, but most of all, I will remember you for a night that was probably nothing more than ordinary to you.  When I was 16, my parents surprised me and my sister on our way back from visiting family in Canada and stopped in NYC for a few days!  We were so excited to see the Big Apple!  One of those nights, we ate dinner at a restaraunt called a Dish of Salt and while our patient waiter was trying to take our order, my mother glanced across the room and saw you and your wife dining together.  She was totally start struck and tongue tied and I'm pretty sure that he gave up and came back later to take her order when she had regained the gift of speech!  As a teenager, I thought it was cool to see a star, for my mom, it was even more since she had adored him for a long time!  Thank you Paul, not only for all you did for the public at large, but also for all the things you never even knew you did that touched our lives and made us feel even the tiniest connection to you!  Rest in Peace.