Spahn and Sain and pray for rain.

Warren Spahn: 1921-2003

363-245; 3.09 ERA

Hall of Fame: #6 all-time winning pitcher

1943 - Bronze Star, Purple Heart

1957 - Cy Young Award

2003 so far: Bill Mauldin, Joe Foss, Robert Palmer, John Ritter, Johnny Paycheck, Pat Moynihan, Robert Stack, George Plimpton, Jack Elam, Neil Postman, Katherine Hepburn, Barry White, David Brinkley, Bobby Hatfield, Gregory Peck, Briggs Cunningham, Charles Bronson, Buddy's Hackett and Ebsen, Carol Shields, Benny Carter, Bob Hope, Warren Zevon, Hume Cronyn, Johhny Cash, Elia Kazan, Art Carney. Noted with ambivialence: Lester Maddox, Edward Teller, Strom Thurmond, Leni Reifenstahl.

Sigh. I'm sure every generation goes through this, but it seems like the constellation of people, notable adults I guess, who I became aware of as a kid growing up is starting to blink out.

It's strange. Pat Moynihan was not as startling as Gregory Peck, yet they were about the same age. Robert Palmer shocked me. Same for John Ritter and Barry White. Warren Zevon was simple sadness, grief already in process. Bob Hope, well, that was no surprise but Buddy's Hackett and Ebsen--I wasn't ready for them. Katherine Hepburn, Johnny Cash and Art Carney just seemed "unfair." I'll miss Neil Postman more than George Plimpton. What's up with that? Edward Teller, Thurmond, Maddox and Reifenstahl: Thanks for the history lesson, now we know what not to do.

This is the first year that these passings have really caught my eye. Okay, maybe the second. Most of the people I listed--maybe a third from memory, the rest from here--are twice my age, yet they seem to have imprinted pretty firmly on my flimsy brain. The Honeymooners and The Beverly Hillbillies I saw in reruns. All were obviously seen from a distance through the tube or schoolbooks or newspapers. Or albums or radio. But the strongest feeling of all I would say is reserved for a weird spread. Palmer and Peck were the most profoundly sad for me. Still working on that one. I was surprised that Ritter was more saddening than Katherine Hepburn, and that Jack Elam more so than Robert Stack. Pat Moynihan makes me sadder than Charles Bronson. Because, well, there's just no way Charles Bronson is dead. Period.