Who will I go to bed with now?

I am not sure how y’all dealing with this but I am in denial big time, my longest ever bed time partner is leaving me and I am not sure how to handle it. I am in major denial at the moment, trying to pretend it isn’t really happening but tonight is the last night I go to bed with Dave and I am scared of what the future holds.

Dave is the King of Late Night, I was too young for Carson and I am not a big chin fan. Dave is a huge part of our culture whether we know it or not. I have a hugely talented and successful comedian friend, who wanted to get on the show for 30 years, almost did recently but it never happened and now it never will. Another great friend did the show recently and my incredibly talented brother even had a ‘Letterman’ story in case he ever got the chance to be on the show. He had a ‘Letterman’ story, not a ‘Late night chat show story’ but a Letterman story, that is how amazing Dave is, and I will call him Dave as even though he has no idea who I am, I feel like I can call him Dave.

He messed up big time personally and copped to it on air. He is apparently a tough person to work for and never speaks to guests before they come on air and sometimes he beats a dead horse with his jokes. However, he was the first guy back on air after 9-11, and if you haven’t seen that show watch it. Some of the memories that I will have of lying in bed with Dave include:

• Andy Kaufman being slapped by King Jerry Lawler
• Rupert from the Hello Deli 
• Drew Barrymore flashing Dave while dancing on his desk
• Apologizing to Bill Hicks mother for not showing his last set on the show
• Bruce Willis having the promo for the movie he was flogging projected onto his baldhead
• Jack Hanna pretty much every time he came on
• Dropping things off buildings just because
• Hitting golf balls at office buildings just because
• Being off air for his heart surgery
• ‘Joaquin, I'm sorry you couldn't be here tonight’
• Everything about Bill Murray
• His tribute to Robin Williams
• ‘Would you like to buy a monkey’ from Cabin Boy
• Warren Zevon, other great musical acts and of course the bald man in the glasses on the keyboards
• The way Julia Roberts used to light up every time she came on his show
• His son, the same age as mine, and how that has changed him
• The fact that Carson wrote jokes for you when he retired
• And of course stupid human tricks, stupid pet tricks and the top 10

The list could go on and on. I am going to miss you Dave, I am not sure if people get how important you were to them, to comedy and music and to what is now late night entertainment. So tonight I will stay up past my usual bedtime to make sure I catch the entire show, I will toast you with a cold beverage of my choice and probably shed a tear or two as I am guessing you will also. You had many great lines but I do believe this was your greatest and at the time most needed.

“There's only one requirement of any of us, and that is to be courageous. Because courage, as you might know, defines all other human behavior. And, I believe - because I've done a little of this myself - pretending to be courageous is just as good as the real thing.”

You are a Poets Day legend (Fri shows were recorded on Thursdays) and you most certainly have worked hard, played hard and earned your inspiration. Enjoy the 500 back home in Indiana with your race team, have fun at Worldwide Pants, enjoy your life and thank you from the bottom of my heart. You have made me laugh, made me question your morals, made me question your sanity and made me cry. 

But most of all you have made me feel good going to bed, knowing you would be there 5 nights a week.

There is no off position on the genius switch