Leaves are Turning
Stars are Burning in the Autumn Sky
Stars that have been there for Billions of Years
But not Forever
Stars that will be there long after we’re gone
But not Forever
The Summer has drawn its final breath
Autumn has begun.
When the Spring began to fade to Summer’s Lengthier Daylight, we had with us:

MAYA ANGELOU — May 28^th
ANN B. DAVIS — June 1^st
RUBY DEE — June 11^th
CHUCK NOLL — June 13^th
ELI WALLACH — June 24^th
MESHACH TAYLOR — June 28^th
ELAINE STRITCH — July 17^th
JAMES GARNER — July 19^th
ROBIN WILLIAMS — August 11^th
LAUREN BACALL — August 12^th
DON PARDO — August 18^th
RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH — August 24^th
JOAN RIVERS — September 4^th
POLLY BERGEN — September 20^th

And we end with all of them gone…

When this Year began, we also had with us:

ARIEL SHARON — January 11^th
PETE SEEGER — January 27^th
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN — February 2^nd
SHIRLEY TEMPLE — February 10^th
SID CAESAR — February 12^th
MICKEY ROONEY — March 2^nd
DAVID BRENNER — March 15^th
BOB HOSKINS — April 29^th

… and we started the Summer with all of them gone.

People who made us Laugh — who made our Lives Better
People whose faces we saw on Magazines at the Newsstand
Smiling at us
Reminding us to Laugh it off
Letting us know Everything would be OK.

None of us has ever before lived in a World in which LAUREN BACALL wasn’t a Living Legend.
I came of Age as ROBIN WILLIAMS was declared by PEOPLE MAGAZINE
“The Funniest Man in the World” His response, “No pressure!”
JOAN RIVERS singing “The Bitch is Back” with ELTON JOHN and CHER on the first episode of her own Talk Show seems a recent memory.

These people were part of the Cultural Landscape in which all of us Live and Work and Breathe and Thrive and Laugh and are Inspired and Do what we Do.
In such a short season, we have said GoodBye to so many.

In More Recent Years:

ELIZABETH TAYLOR
NELSON MANDELA
JEAN STAPLETON
ESTHER WILLIAMS
ABIGAIL VAN BUREN
RAY BRADBURY
BEA ARTHUR
SPALDING GRAY
DICK CLARK
WHITNEY HOUSTON
MAURICE SENDAK
MARVIN HAMLISCH
NEIL ARMSTRONG
HELEN GURLEY BROWN
VACLAV HAVEL
STEVE JOBS…

Yet just as they have parted from our Landscape,
Each at one time Emerged
Appeared
Brightened
Overcame the Odds
Kept Trying
Stayed True to themselves
Arose…

At one time, OPRAH WINFREY was Host of a small local Talk Show in Chicago
Before she burst onto the National Landscape

At one time, AUDRA MCDONALD was a new Graduate of the Juilliard Voice Program
Now Six Tony Awards Later…

At one time, BRAD PITT was that good looking young guy no one had ever seen before who played that small part in THELMA AND LOUISE

Stars of the Universe have a Life
From Nebula to Protostars…
Then about ten billion years of Main Sequence, fusing hydrogen to form helium…
Red Giant to Planetary Nebula
And finally, in the White Dwarf to Black Dwarf Stage, they burn out.

The Stars in our own World have a Life too,
Usually somewhat less than ten billion years.
They have a Main Sequence Stage during which they shine Brightest.
And then at some point, they die.

We too Shine.
We who may be Stars in a different context
Or perhaps not at all.
We Shine!
And we have our Time.
And it is not Forever.

Our Time is Now.
Autumn Begins.
The Leaves are just starting to turn colors
It is a time to Harvest
Pumpkins…
Apples…
So many Living Things growing Ripe
At their Sweetest

Protostar…
Red Giant…
White Dwarf…

Let us embrace this
Here
Now
As our Main Sequence.

As the Leaves fall from the Trees, Let us be reminded that our time here is not Forever
We grow older
We Fall
Trees Grow Barren…
But let us not Miss the Blazing Beauty and Brightness of this Period in our Lives
We are in Glory
Now
Let us Harvest all we have sewn

We are Living Things growing Ripe
This is our Moment
To Burn Brightly
Bear Fruit
Savor the Lustrous Caress of Colored Breezes
Arise
Awaken
Blaze
Ripen

Shine…

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