No jokes here, ironically.

I normally shy away from serious subjects on this blog of mine. It seems the world is often too serious for its own good, so why should it be perpetuated in this space? But I feel I would be remiss if I did not comment on the passing of Johnny Carson.

I've spent quite a bit of time today watching videos of news coverage on the Internet and I made it a point to catch The Tonight Show, which had some great guests and was very touching. Kind of a strange thing for me to do, considering I don't think I've ever seen Carson host a show, except in clips. I was not yet 10 years old when he stepped down from his hosting duties. I doubt I'd even stayed up until 10:30 at that point. So why was I so saddened at the passing of an entertainer I barely knew?

I don't know, really. Maybe I recognized his importance in the realm of entertainment. Maybe, as an amateur crafter of comedy, I felt he was a kindred spirit. Maybe he represented a simpler time when it was possible to have a uniting cultural touchstone...a time that, in today's increasingly fragmented world, is becoming impossible to return to.

Maybe it's all of these things. Like I said, I don't know. All I know is that we've lost someone very special and my heart is sad because of it. He was before my time and of that, I am truly regretful. We will never see another quite like him.

Rest in peace, Johnny.