Front Row Seat

By now everyone has heard about Roger Ebert’s passing. I have no need to supply links to any news articles. Here, though, is a link to where is column resides. I have been on the edge of sadness since hearing about his death. Finally, this morning I have found myself crying. I can not say why his death is so meaningful. Perhaps it is due to his having made me look at  movies so much more then simple jokes, frights, fights, or sex sense.

His reviews with Gene Siskel on “At The Movies” were at times monumental clashes of opinion with the ultimate conclusion for them to agree to disagree. I remember when they first came on the air, before “At The Movies,” there was the appearance they did not like each other. Yet, over the years, you could see a deep friendship develop. In some ways, I wonder if that was more of a draw to watch the show than the movies they reviewed.

I see Roger Ebert’s passing as an end of an era. May he find the movies of the afterlife to be as dramatic, funny, and moving as the best he watched here on Earth.