But wait, there's (no) more!

The late, great Mays machine

There have been a couple of news worthy celebrity deaths within the last week or so, and frankly I've not been "moved" by a single one...except in the passing of America's favorite pitch man. I don't mean to sound cold, but late fallen pop kings and old, feathered hair actresses just don't rate high on my "oh man, that's a bummer" meter.

From the Los Angeles Times:

Billy was the American insomniac's best friend. Always there late at night or early in the morning. Always happy to see you. Giving you that old thumbs-up sign of Mays approval. Always selling something terrifically wonderful, so much so that even folks with graduate degrees found themselves grabbing their credit card and reaching for the phone to beat that phony "Next 10 minutes" deadline.

In fact, he didn't put insomniacs to sleep. How could anyone sleep around Billy's obviously genuine enthusiasm and energy? He just kept us company while we worked through the long night or waited for dawn to arrive.

He was no doubt sound asleep himself somewhere else. But through the magic of video, Billy was right there in our living rooms showing us a mop that could not only clean all pet hairs off the floor but probably off the dog too.

Here's the deal: Billy was real. He would only sell products that passed his test, that worked and that he himself used at home. He even handed out samples to guests.

You don't see that much elsewhere in American society today, especially in politicians. For instance, if Billy was, say, president and trying to sell us all on a massive national public education reform program costing billions of dollars, you just know he'd have his kids in those very same public schools, not off safely in some fancy private place.

So today, June 29th, is Billy Mays Memorial day. Wear something blue! Rest in peace Billy!


A candid, and fun-loving Mays in action