Richard Pryor

I'm old enough now that when a public figure, entertainer, or athlete passes away, it's usually someone that I remember. Until you're in your teens or even older, the death of a celebrity has no meaning to you because they were generally popular before you were born. After that, though, and growing more true as you age, you feel more of a sense of loss when that celebrity obituary appears.

Richard Pryor died yesterday morning, on Saturday, about the time we were enjoying our 20 mile run. Only 65 years old. My only connection with Pryor was through his comedy albums, movies, and appearances on television, but I was still saddened to hear that his long fight with MS had ended. He certainly lived a fast and full life, and I guess you can say that his drug abuse and sometimes careless lifestyle may have hastened his end. Still, since my teenage years, I've spent many hours laughing my butt off, listening to the amazingly funny stuff that Richard Pryor left to us. I have all of his albums on CD now, and although I can only listen to them when the kids are not in my car, I love to get them out from time to time for serious laughter therapy when the world closes in a little too much.

I listened this afternoon to "Is It Something I Said?," which contains most of my favorite Pryor routines, and even though I practically have the album memorized, it still made me laugh out loud as I drove to and from guitar practice today. A devastatingly funny man, Richard Pryor will be missed, but I'll always be able to hear his work or see his movies (including "Blazing Saddles," for which he was a co-writer of the screenplay) when real life makes things a little too grim to handle.

I hope you're at peace now, Mr. Pryor. You won't easily be forgotten by the rest of us.