Say It Ain't So

Dickie told me that Jim Croce died in a plane wreck. I did not believe him. Dickie could not always be counted on for the "straight scoop". He, first of all, imagined that he was the second coming of Elliot Ness and that it was only a matter of time until all lawbreakers near and far feared the sound of his name. I mean, he really thought so. He pretended to be a cop. He lived in his own world. A fantasy world. Secondly, he had, less than a month earlier, told me that our mutual friend Tim had drowned. But, Tim had not drowned, much to my relief and that of his family.

So, naturally, I thought Dickie was pulling my leg again. I told him so and that I was tired of him doing so. Sadly, as many who followed music in the early 70's can remember, Jim Croce DID die in a plane wreck and we are left to wonder how many more musical tales he had left in him. Too bad.

I just wonder now if James Lileks is pulling my leg. This story is all over the blogosphere. Others are covering it brilliantly, notably, Hugh Hewitt, and I won't try to be some sort of analyst here. I haven't got the chops. But what I do have is the nagging feeling that something just isn't right here. Nobody, I mean, NOBODY can be this ignorant of what's happening all around them, can they? Dave Barry's got, maybe, the best line of the whole episode so far:
"James Lileks, a terrific writer and one of the best newspaper columnists in America, says on his blog today that his newspaper, the Minneapolis-St.Paul Star-Tribune, has decided to kill his column and have him write straight local news stories. This is like the Miami Heat deciding to relieve Dwyane Wade of his basketball-playing obligations so he can keep stats."
It is a perfect description of what has happened, not really exaggerated at all.

And that's what gives me pause - it makes absolutely no sense. It's like insisting the earth is flat, or the moon is made of green cheese, or that Anna Nicole Smith really did merit all that coverage.

So, while Mr. Lileks has never yanked my chain before (that I know of), I just wanted to get it out there that, maybe I'm wrong, but I'm waiting for another shoe to drop.