It has been stated that if there is a talent one possesses or has a great grasp of, by all means name it and claim it and never back away. This is being said in light of the very first thing that popped into my head upon answering the 8 am alarm clock...

March 5th 1982 happened to also fall on a Friday. I was 11 days away from turning 18 while attending senior year in Orange County, Ca. It was a cloudy and cool day. There was nothing really pressing in my life at that time. When you're a kid you shouldn't have any worries. You should just enjoy being a kid.

For some odd reason, I noticed by period three that I had a knot in my stomach. It was like a gnawing ache that stuck around for a good three hours. It began to lessen right before the start of history class with Jack Burke. A low key guy who was very supportive of whatever it was you wanted to do. Most days you just did study hall and Mr. Burke was okay with that.

It just so happened that March 5th 1982 was Mr. Burke's birthday. It was one of the only times that our class had an open discussion about what it means to age gracefully and to prepare for life on life's terms. Jack made a comment that struck me then, and still strikes me now.

'Kids, be sure to have a plan in life, for you might not know what happens tomorrow. Keep busy being born and not give death an early chance.' That struck me funny. 20 months removed from a classmate committing suicide, these words carried a certain resonance with me. It also hit me that the gnawing feeling I had in my gut gathered steam again. Call it an intuition, a gut feeling, or a premonition, but I sensed that there was going to be some sort of bad news about to reach me. A tragedy if you will...

I remember telling Mr. Burke, 'Age is just a number, sir. It's all in the way you feel.' Then it was off to the casa. It was almost 3 pm and Mom always had the soaps recording. There would be no 'GH' watching this day as the television focused on the developing story coming out of Beverly Hills, Ca.

From 1976-1979 I was an ardent watcher of 'Saturday Night Live'. John Belushi was one of the 'Not Ready For Prime Time' players. Some of the characters he played were downright hilarious, especially Joe Cocker, the Buzzing Bees, the Blues Brothers, and his trademark 'But, Noooooooooo!' on Weekend Update. 

He had just turned 33 on January 24th, which was Super Bowl Sunday. And now KABC broke away from regular programming to announce the death of John Belushi. When they walked his bloated body out of the Chateau Marmont my heart sank. What is it about the people I think are indestructible who flame out and leave the game of life so soon?

This was my mindset in 1982. Today in 2010, I try to imagine a living John Belushi at age 61 still doing cartwheels and keeping the spirit of Jake and Elwood alive. he loved his whiskey and he liked his cocaine. It was a more liberal time unlike today. 

It would be another 24-48 hours before we were told of the method of death, via a lethal speedball combination. It was at that point that I made a promise to myself I would not die in a manner so senseless. I KNEW I could past 33 in my lifetime!

Truth be told, even though sometimes the mind falters a little, and the senses are a little on the decline as I approach 46, you can take solace in the fact that there is a certain sense of accomplishment to outlive the people you once idolized. John was 33, it was right after my 33rd birthday that I realized there was a problem...

John Belushi was a special performer, a man of Albanian descent and the pride of Wheaton, Ill. He left this place way too soon. I will forever the man who portrayed Bluto Blutarski in 'Animal House'. The trademark raised eyebrow long before The Rock made that his staple. John Belushi was an original, now in a better place.

Even after 28 years, the memory remains as lucent today. Go figure. 

Dallas Mavericks about to reach a ten game win streak. Dallas Stars outscored 11-3 in two games post Olympics. Ouch ouch ouch! Not what I envisioned. 

A pleasant week of weather will continue through Saturday before North Texas gets stormy and scary...

Over and out in Big D

Mr. Will