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In Memoriam 2023

I inherited one significant relationship from my late sister and that was the twenty year or so run I had with Arleen after Marjorie’s passing. I had met her, or received the blessings of her incredible generosity, when she engineered a staff writing job for me on America’s Funniest People over thirty years ago. She was the co-host of the America’s Funniest Videos spinoff with Dave Coulier and Marjorie called her and said her brother had eaten the requisite amount of shit in LA and could she throw him a bone as a favor.
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He Who Doesn’t Laugh Laughs Least

I might have mentioned a couple of times that I spent most of my twenties as a full time rock critic/photographer for a daily paper in Toronto, a youth that would have been better invested in a good law school rather than wasted on such a frivolous pursuit. But I was having too much fun until I wasn’t and, with some encouragement from my editors, I pulled the plug when I was twenty nine based on my own personal belief that thirty is the cut off age for the three chord lifestyle which requires one to truly live it short of an intravenous dependency..
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Tragic Kingdom

Bruce Johnston wrote that song for The Beach Boys’ 1971 album Surf’s Up. The actual song title includes the year 1957 to make sure we knew this was a nostalgic look back complete with reference to ‘Ricky and David’ (as with most of my references, if you don’t get this please stop reading) which just about corresponds to when Disneyland was really catching on with the kids. I was fortunate enough to be taken there by my parents in December of 1966 as perhaps a gift for my coming Bar Mitzvah. I was very fortunate to fly cross country when most of my friends were years away from a trip to the airport.
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Jonathan Gross
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Reflections in a Glass Vacuum Tube

This month my little company will celebrate its thirtieth anniversary. No small feat given that turnover in the film distribution business is fairly brisk, and that yours truly will not be lecturing at the Harvard Business School anytime soon, such are my skills in running any sort of organization. We will celebrate at one point with a party for our friends and perhaps something for our loyal customers. In my mind, it’s going to be a little bittersweet as I wonder where the decades went along with the life force I put into something that was never a Plan A, or even a Plan B. It’s A Wonderful Life indeed.
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