I'm finding myself surprisingly affected by the death of Dan Fogelberg last Sunday at age 56. He died of prostate cancer, with which he was diagnosed in 2004. During the last couple of years Fogelberg stressed all men over 50 should get an annual prostate exam (apparently he didn’t get one until the disease was too serious). Stephen Stills just announced he also had prostate cancer, but Graham Nash (who, obviously, is a bandmate of Stills and was a long-time friend of Fogelberg's) noted Stills is in the early stages and has a much better chance for recovery. 

I went through my Fogelberg phase as part of what I call a larger "bearded singer-songwriter phase" from June 1980 to about July 1982. During that time, I acquired all seven of Rupert Holmes' studio albums, four of Fogelberg's, three by Stephen Bishop, and two by Andrew Gold. I really didn't piece it together at the time, but all of them wrote almost all of their own material, had achieved a certain amount of success over the previous few years, and had beards (which I'm pretty sure is just coincidental. 

Again, I didn’t piece all of this together at the time, but I think it was part of a larger yearning on my part for a girlfriend. None of these guys were like The Eagles (writing about the women who would love them and leave them, even though the reality was pretty much the reverse), or Jackson Browne, Billy Joel, Springsteen, or Seger, for whom romance was once of many themes. The bearded guys were focused primarily on the ups and downs of romance. (I will say that Fogelberg came across as far more serious than the other three, who seemed to recognize their own faults and could laugh at them.) 

Most guys won't admit it, but I think they'd rather have someone to truly love instead of a string of buttercups. I mean, that's fun for a short time -- I sometimes say to myself, "Whatever possessed me to wait years for Miss Absolutely Perfect when Miss You Could Be the One for the Next Few Hours or So was right there?" But, in the long haul, we want that special person that we know will be the one. (I knew that about Karen the day after we started dating; I had spent most of the previous six month mooning over someone else.) 

I know most of my friends from college were the types to settle down -- I was invited to thirteen weddings (went to all but two -- no transportation to one, and two were on the same day in different states) from Cornell folks between 1983 and 1996 (I graduated in 1984). All but one couple is still married today (and her remarriage is included in the thirteen). Most of the couples met in college, but not all (I was actually the first one of the group to marry someone outside the Cornell circle, as was Karen with her college friends). Between us, we have 22 kids, ages 3 to 17. Toss in a bunch of weddings and kids among Karen's friends (no divorces there), and that's really bucking the odds. Karen and I have more divorces among our siblings than among our college friends, and between us we only have two brothers and one sister. 

But back in 1981, I wanted that special someone right then and there. Early on, I apparently wanted her at a distance -- two attempts at long-distance relationships with high-school girls didn't pan out. I was doing poorly at school and allowing myself to be sidetracked by mindless activities (who else spent about five dollars a day on video games?). My self-esteem was pretty low. Fortunately, I had also joined a fraternity, and after just barely avoiding being told to take a year off, my friends within the frat and outside helped me get my act together and focus. (This included a wonderful woman with whom I’d become great friends, who made it her personal mission to make sure I stayed in school.) 

And that fall I was getting Fogelberg records. Home Free, Nether Lands, Twin Sons of Different Mothers and The Innocent Age all became part of my collection within six months of one another -- I wouldn't buy another Fogelberg record for nearly 20 years. Surely this guy knew what to do. (As it turned out, he was just as screwed up as the rest of us.) But I made it through that semester, and started getting the idea of what to do with the rest of my life. 

Ultimately, it had very little to do with Dan Fogelberg, and a lot to do with self-confidence. I've been working on that ever since.

Tom Hanks meets Rita Wilson. Too bad he was married to somebody else at the time. It's from a 1981 Bosom Buddies, where her character is fixed up with Peter Scolari.

We're leaving for Michigan's Upper Peninsula after I get out of work today, and won't be back until July 28. No posts until then.

The final Superhits 1978-1983 CD count stands at 31, ranging from January 1978 (Diana Ross' "Getting Ready for Love") through October 1981 (Christopher Cross' "Arthur's Theme [Best That You Can Do]"). I'll finish when we get back.

Lots of positive feedback on The Most Outrageous Game Show Moments special. Look for two more editions sometime in the near future.

Also look for Peter Marshall's book, Backstage With the Original Hollywood Square at your favorite local bookstore. If they don't have it, ask for it, and then buy it! It comes with a CD version of 1974's Zingers From The Hollywood Squares, a fun LP of one-liners. Coauthor Adrienne Armstrong writes Peter Marshall will be signing copies of the book Wednesday, August 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Bookstar in Studio City, CA (it's on Ventura Blvd. west of Laurel Canyon). Joining him will be, of course, nine celebrities from the original show: Rose Marie, Nanette Fabray, Suzanne Pleshette, Abby Dalton, JoAnne Worley, Tom Poston, Harvey Korman, Arte Johnson, and Fred Willard. If you're in the area, it will be loads of fun!

Fox television, unbelievably, is contemplating getting back into late-night television. Geez, haven't they been the butt of enough jokes over their previous lame attempts (The Late Show With Joan Rivers, The Wilton North Report, The Chevy Chase Show). And yet they persist. This is painful; it's kind of like me, trying to get in with the popular kids after years of failure, going on the 8th grade talent show with my accordion playing "Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)." (No, I didn't actually do this!)

Weight: 207.5. Maybe the vacation will mean lots of exercise and not too much food. (Yeah, right.)

Have a great week, everybody.

Feeling much better today. My sleep deprivation Monday led to a high temperature that night and Tuesday, which I slogged through without missing any time from work (I haven't taken a sick day in nearly three years). Since I'm going on vacation next week, I need to be around in case questions arise.

I have just about completed Disc 26 of Superhits 1978-1983 -- the halfway point, since it straddles 1980 and 1981. This means there's no way I'll finish this puppy by Friday morning unless I pull a couple of all-nighters, and obviously that's not a bright idea before a vacation. I expect I'll have 30 discs or more done when we leave, possibly as many as 36 -- which, at 75 minutes of music a disc, would mean anywhere between 37.5 and 45 hours of music on the discs, more than enough for the 24 hours or so of driving. We like having familiar music on our travel CDs for singalong purposes on long trips -- this keeps the driver awake, and since both Karen and I can carry a tune and occasionally can harmonize together (believe it or not, I used to take the high harmonies until I had a cyst removed from my throat and lost most of my falsetto abilities), it's actually a lot of fun. The reason I wanted to finish the whole thing is Karen really didn't start seriously listening to Top 40 radio until she started in college in the fall of 1983 -- her older brother listened to a lot of alternative, and her mom kept the radio locked on classical. (I, on the other hand, started listening to Musicradio 77 WABC in the summer of 1970 at age 7-1/2, and have become a Top 40 historian of sorts.) So although she's familiar with most of the songs from the earlier years, it would have been nice to get to her era. I'll finish this pr#ff0t when we get back -- I hate the fact that I sometimes leave major projects unfinished (see Game Shows '75 and the pages that have been labeled "Still to Come" for four years for details). This will be completed, then I'll go back and finish some other projects as well. A New Year's Resolution in mid-July.

I should have mentioned this earlier, but do try to watch "The Most Outrageous Game Show Moments" on NBC television tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern (7 Central). It features clips and outtakes of crazy moments on game shows throughout the years, including the famous "Urban Legend" clip from The Newlywed Game. The producers were nice enough to consult some of us game show fans for advice on what to use, and were especially nice enough to give me a credit at the end of the show (although my last name was spelled wrong; this was an NBC transcription error). They're working on two additional specials as I write this.

Bill Madden of the New York Daily News has written a fascinating column that appears in today's paper. MLB has been sued under the RICO act by the former partners of ex-Montreal Expos owner Jeffrey Loria (who, having nearly ruined that team, is now weaving his magic on the Florida Marlins). It helps solidify my feelings about Bud Selig -- that he's done a truly awful job as commissioner, and continues to ruin the game. Baseball desperately needs someone who can make the game trustworthy again -- a Pete Rozelle, a Peter Ueberroth, or someone similar -- to get the Selig stench out. The problem is, he's the owners' man, and they support him to the hilt -- for the most part. If MLB loses this suit, Selig might finally be forced out.

I continue to have much admiration for Newsweek magazine. (Well, I can't stand George Will, but to paraphrase the late Washington Post publisher Phil Graham, every publication needs at least one crummy columnist.) I switched from Time a few years ago because I got the impression the magazine was becoming less distinctive and more frivolous, and was a small and less signficant part of a giant media empire (and this was before AOL bought them). Newsweek is part of The Washington Post company, an organization that is involved only in journalism. Anyway, they have two worthy columns on their web site. But if you read this much later than a week or so after I've posted, they may be gone; Newsweek tends to archive quickly.

Howard Fineman writes about George Bush, and the struggles he will face in the next six months. I hadn't realized "changing the rules" was his modus operandi, and Fineman's point of view may be a bit caustic. But it seems no president has been able to tame Washington, and I don't think Bush will be any exception.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Alter's column on Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is downright frightening. Alter concedes the obvious -- he'll probably get what he wants in this particular instance, because of Texas' rules regarding criminal cases and the fact that the mental retardation of the defendant is subject to debate -- but Scalia has made his opinion very clear: you're either for execution of criminals or you're un-American. (Scalia has recommended that judges who cannot authorized executions when that is a sentencing option leave the bench, per CNN's Bill Press.) Scalia slipped under the radar when he was nominated because he's lived a pretty clean life and Ronald Reagan (who appointed Scalia to the Supreme Court) had very high ratings at the time; the Democrats took their wrath out on Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas later on, winning one and losing one. It's often been noted that William Rehnquist, who will turn 78 later this year, may retire soon, with Scalia the possible nominee as his successor (Scalia is 66). I can only hope opposition can be organized -- Scalia's opinions, on this issue and many others, are not only in the court's minority, but out of step with much of the country. If he stood for elected office he would certainly not be elected; I fail to see why he should ascend to the most powerful judicial position in the land without a peep.

Best news of all -- Karen's back tomorrow from New York City. Can't wait.