And don't be afraid of the dark

Well, it's Labor Day, and we all know what that means.  Time for the Labor Day Love Network, the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon!  Joining Jerry and his live all-night and all-day show will be absolutely no one, because it ain't happening this year. 

The people at the Muscular Dystrophy Association let Jerry go last year and there is no more telethon.  This tears my heaven all to hell, because, as great as the cause of fighting these neuromuscular diseases is, I regard Jerry as the French do.  I think he is almost the funny man ever born, taking second place only to gagmeister Mint Romney.

Last year, when his role was significantly diminished, Jerry promised to let us know how it came that the MDA people threw him out after 45 years, $1.6 billion raised, and one Nobel Peace Prize nomination.  But Jerry is far too classy a guy to complain about shoddy treatment, so here we are, no Telethon, no Jerry singing "You'll Never Walk Alone," no tympani rolls accompanying toteboard updates, no referring to his pals (e.g. Sammy Davis, Jr) as "mahvelous pehfohmehs." 

I think it's a shoddy way to treat a great man, but I point you to this YouTube video as another way to pass the time today, Labor Day, a day that used to mean Jerry Day as well, but no longer does.

Peggy and my parents and I went to the Lyric Theater to see Jerry star in "Damn Yankees" in 1995.  When Jer appeared out of a cloud of Luciferian smoke, the audience arose as one, greeting him with a standing ovation that ended only when my father yanked on the knee of my khakis and told me it was time to sit down, at long last. 

But I never thought they'd say that to Jerry.  Look how wrong I was!