Last night was CBS' 75th Anniversary Gala. For anyone who has studied television, CBS is an important part of television history. But for anyone who watches television in the present day, CBS is a station to be ignored. Still, I used to really like watching those retrospective programs. These days, however, there's something missing. A big something. A 6'3" something who'd be cracking wise over how much older Ginger looks than Mary Ann. Or something much more funny than that.
You see, I grew up watching TV with my brother. We'd sit transfixed in front of the TV from the time we got home from school until we were peeled away to be put to bed. We cut our comedy teeth on Monty Python and Saturday Night Live, we watched in rapt astonishment as world events unfolded. I remember Ross audio taping Nixon's resignation speech off our black and white tv in the back room of our old house. Ross was so clever and his mind was photographic, encyclopedic. He'd call the evening news and have school cancelled, just to see if he could do it. And he could. TV was his oyster. Later, he worked as a production assistant in Los Angeles. Never crazy about the business from the inside, he was always passionate about it from a trivial perspective. And we shared that passion. We'd argue about details, sometimes to a fever pitch, but it was something we shared deeply. TV was a bond between Ross and I and now that he is gone, it's hard to enjoy a program such as that without him. I know my folks must have felt the same way.
Most of the time I feel Ross with me, in my pocket, in my soul, in my heart. Times like yesterday I only felt him gone. I like the other times better. Most times.
