“…And I have been drunk now for over two weeks,
I passed out and I rallied and I sprung a few leaks,
But I got to stop wishin’, got to go fishin’,
Down to rock bottom again,
Just a few friends, just a few friends…
Mother, mother ocean, after all the years I’ve found,
My occupational hazard being my occupation’s just not around,
I feel like I’ve drowned, gonna head uptown,
I feel like I’ve drowned, gonna head uptown…”
James William Buffett, December 25, 1946 – September 1, 2023
I never saw Jimmy Buffett live. I have watched Bob Barker a thousand times, mostly with my grandma, for whom the word “beloved” does no justice. She was THE grandparent, the benchmark all the others could not possibly measure up to, and Bob Barker and the Showcase Showdown are forever intertwined with her memory. But Bob’s passing did not hit me like this. I think that’s the power of music. You find the right chords, the right melody, the right lyrics, and it resonates. And sometimes that resonant tone echoes through the rest of your life. This was unexpected, and unexpectedly sad on a personal level. He will be missed.