We’ve lost piece of our heritage

An authentic product of the 50s, I can speak to the loss we feel as Dick Clark does “The Stroll” into heaven.

Looking back now, I see those white buck shoes, the DA haircut, the poodle skirt — and, girls with ponytails and guys with hair slicked back with every kind of grease you could find. (Vaseline was available, which is probably why my hair is falling out this very day).

In the 50s, everything was OK. After school, we turned on the black-and-white TV so we could watch those lucky kids dancing on Band Stand. Is it just me, or were things a little more simple then?

While in the radio business, I attended the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Dallas in 1982. Sitting on the shuttle bus waiting to get back to the hotel, there was one seat open across the aisle from me. To my astonishment, here came Dick Clark. Plopped down elbow to elbow with me. And, for the first time in my life, I was speechless. We did, however, eventually talk about things — aging mainly — and we spent some time together later.

A chunk of our lives went on when Dick Clark left us. So Long, Dick! (Hand salute)

Larry Leafblad

Grayslake