The final curtain

From a news guy perspective, here’s the thing about Dale and Jim Ed’s (Tom’s) show: The news stinks. Everyone knows the news stinks. Every morning we wake up and one of the first things we remember is times are tough and, oh yeah, the news stinks. Then you turn on the radio and someone is on stage singing “Getting to Know You,” just as someone has been singing it since about 10,000 end-of-the-worlds ago. And suddenly you realize that just because the news stinks, life doesn’t; it goes on and people sing and dance.

The cynics will call that denial — that life is simply too crushing in its burden. I will deny that.

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Long-time The Morning Show producer Mike Pengra signs “the wall” backstage at the Fitzgerald Theater. Performers and speakers at the Fitz sign their names to the bricks. “This is quite an honor,” Mike said as he finished. “Don’t worry, we’ll paint over it,” the theater manager joked.