The Weekly Readlines December 15 -

A note from the newsroom: It’s been a year, hasn’t it? And it’s not over yet. We’ve seen gains, we’ve seen losses, we’ve felt hope and we’ve felt heartbreak. Kind of like every year, when you think about it.

Two very recent losses brought my youth to mind: the death of poet and activist Nikki Giovanni, and the passing of Michael Cole, one of the three now-dead leads from Mod Squad (1968 – 1973). It wasn’t until I saw the headline about Cole’s death that I remembered him as one of my boyhood TV man-crushes. Some others were Robert Conrad on Wild Wild West (“Who is your tailor, Mr. Conrad? Such tight fitting blue suits”) and Bill Bixby on The Courtship of Eddie’s Father.

Nikki Giovanni was among a handful of poets I devoured in high school, learning from them how to use words most effectively, and how to make sense of a world I generally found unwelcoming.

She was 81, he was 84, I’m 66. We all take a licking and keep on ticking … until the clock stops. So long, you two, thanks for being part of the puzzle that is me. – Mark

QUOTE FOR THE WEEK

“There is always something to do. There are hungry people to feed, naked people to clothe, sick people to comfort and make well. And while I don’t expect you to save the world I do think it’s not asking too much for you to love those with whom you sleep, share the happiness of those whom you call friend, engage those among you who are visionary and remove from your life those who offer you depression, despair and disrespect.”

Poet and Activist Nikki Gionanni (1943 – 2024)