Age finally caught up with America's eternal teenager...

Dick Clark who seemed for decades to never age has died. A true giant of television, he produced many of the media's greatest special moments. Like... in the summer of 1957 in Philadelphia when... a 12 1/2 year old AMERICAN BANDSTAND fanatic's father got him on the show. YES, kids... old Father Geek was there... in person to see THE PLATTERS... and my idol DICK CLARK on America's #1 Rock n Roll TV show... annnd 55 years later its still fresh in my mind. Saw Dick again when he opened a hamburger joint in Austin and he signed my "WINTER DANCE PARTY" original poster... we talked about that early show and he offered to get DION (of the Belmonts) to sign it also. Scared something might happen to my prize rock relic, I passed... mistake. You see the others on that poster were; The Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens, and BUDDY HOLLY. Dion had lost out and had to take the bus with the sidemen and instruments, the other 3 headliners got to fly. Any way Dick offered, and commented that he had got the same poster from Buddy's widow... the origin of mine. Saw him again in Hollywood in 2002 when Harry appeared on a show of his, annnd then again a couple of years later in an alley in LA between my hotel & The Hard Rock Cafe. Though he was with a group he stopped, we exchanged pleasentries, he went into the Hard Rock, I got a cab for John Carpenter's house. That's the last time I saw him... except on TV of course... I'll miss those video visits...