In the past, I made a note to blog about when a prominent person passes away but sometimes, I don't have time.
What motivated me to finally get started was the recent death of folk-rock musician David Crosby. He was a member of 2 legendary bands, The Byrds, and CSNY (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)
I don't know much of his songs since his biggest hits came before my time (I was born 1980), but one song really stood out to me.
When I had a family counseling session with my parents back in 2014, the psychologist (who was about my parent's age) mentioned CSNY's song "Teach Your Children". The song is about how the parents and their children misunderstand each other due to the differing circumstances of their lives.
The most powerful lines from the song
Don't you ever ask them, "Why?" If they told you, you would cry So just look at them and sigh And know they love you
As hear my parents talk about their situation, and they hear of mine, and I hear the song, tears fall from my eyes.
Thanks to the counseling session, and thanks to this song, I have become more forgiving of my parents. Last year, on my dad's 70th birthday, I write a card with a note saying that I forgive him for the negative things of the past.
Not only do I say that music can have a powerful impact on people, but also, that a really great song can have a powerful impact even on people who don't usually listen to that genre. CSNY's "Teach Your Children" was that song for me.
You can listen to this song at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAu1T6syiD4
========
A few weeks after the latest edition of the men's fútbol/soccer World Cup, the biggest legend of fútbol/soccer has passed away.
That would be the Brazilian player Pelé.
Pelé was to fútbol/soccer what Michael Jordan later became to basketball, someone who excelled when the world's attention to their sport was growing, someone who became famous beyond the sport.
They lived in a world that made them rich & famous for their talent, but that same world didn't always value those who shared their skin color. Some activists wished both Pelé and Michael Jordan spoke out more on racial justice issues, wished that they were more like Muhammad Ali and Colin Kaepernick.
But we also got to be realistic. We can't expect everyone to be extroverts. Muhammad Ali was an extrovert. Not everyone can be him.
The world needs extroverts like Muhammad Ali to remind people of the hypocrisy of a world that only values him in athletics but treats him like a 2nd-class citizen in his own hometown. We also got a reminder of that hypocrisy when he criticized the military draft to fight in Vietnam by saying that no Vietnamese called him the N-word!
At the same time, Pelé and Michael Jordan may not be activists, but they had their own way of uplifting the people. They set an example for the children that they too can rise out of the small towns, work hard, stay focused and become successful. They also gave millions to charity to uplift the people. Also, with their example, they had children of all races who looked up to them, children who grew up to be adults who were less bigoted than the generation before them.
-------
Another prominent person to pass away recently was TV journalist Barbara Walters. She was one of the early female TV journalists to gain prominent positions, the most famous being the lead host of ABC's 20/20, and later, the daytime talk show, The View.
She was also best known for her various interviews with politicians, celebrities, and other prominent people of the moment. Those interviews were must-see TV at a time before we had 200+ cable stations and limitless streaming sites.
Sometimes, the greatest tribute can be from a competitor. This one from a TV journalist from a rival network, Katie Couric
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/31/opinion/barbara-walters-dead-katie-couric.html
Barbara did have a knack for asking disarming questions that sometimes made both her subjects and her viewers squirm. At the last minute, she asked Richard Nixon if he was sorry he hadn’t burned the Watergate tapes. (He said he was.) She asked Barbra Streisand, “Why didn’t you have your nose fixed?” and Monica Lewinsky if Bill Clinton was a “sensuous, passionate man.”
Barbara was fearless about going there — that’s what made her interviews so mesmerizing and ultimately revealing.
and
When I was competing with her for a big get, I knew I had to gird myself for the battle. I can’t count how many times, much to my chagrin, I got word that a sought-after newsmaker was sitting down for an exclusive interview with Barbara. I was crestfallen when Christopher Reeve, the “Superman” actor who became quadriplegic after an accident, and his wife, Dana — whom I had gotten to know and greatly admired — decided to take part in a prime-time special with Barbara on ABC. But when I watched Barbara tell their story with such compassion and sensitivity, I became too moved and impressed to be disappointed.
-----------------
As Barbara Waters lived to be 93 years, we also had reminders that she was born the same year as Anne Frank & Martin Luther King Jr, both of whom died young due to the racist societies they lived in. It is sad they didn't get a chance to live as long as Barbara Walters.
