ZOINKS!

I am not one to worship celebrities. In fact, I steer clear of anything labeled Celebrity News or Celebrity Gossip. The truth is, I just don't care. I don't intend that to sound mean or cold, but I know these people put their pants on one leg at a time, just like I do. Most of the time these so-called celebrities show themselves to be pretty dumb. If you follow Twitter, then you know what I'm talking about.

With all that being said, that doesn't mean I don't miss the work of a celebrity after they pass away. For example, Michael Jackson died way too young. I wasn't a huge fan, but he did have some good songs from back in my heyday.  There are certain actors who did great movies and I miss their body of work. Paul Newman, Jimmy Stewart, Charlton Heston etc... I guess I'm getting old and have gotten more sentimental and nostalgic lately. I was saddened yesterday when I heard of the passing of Casey Kasem. Not because I admired Casey as a man or celebrity (although I have read that he was a nice guy), but because he represented the source of some good memories from my youth. First as the voice of Shaggy from the Scooby Doo cartoons (that was back when cartoons were of high quality and fun to watch). Who among us can't hear Shaggy yelling, "ZOINKS!" or "Like, wow, Scoob! I could sure go for a sandwich!"?  Second as the host of the weekly radio program American Top 40. I'll never forget Sunday afternoons as a teenager. We'd drive around in the car trying to pick up chicks (somehow I never succeeded :-) and we'd listen to Casey "count 'em down". There is something about hearing his voice (they still run AT 40 reruns to this day) that just takes me back to a simpler time in my life. I won't miss Casey as a guy. I never met him and never really cared to. But I will miss him telling me to keep my feet on the ground, but keep reaching for the stars.

I guess the point here is I won't miss Casey as a celebrity. I will miss the feelings of my fleeting youth that go along with hearing him on the radio.