Bucket list motivation

I was sad -- not surprised -- that David Letterman announced he will be retiring next year from hosting CBS's "Late Show."
Sad because David Letterman has been a constant in my TV-viewing life, since he was on in the mornings.
I used to wake up and eat breakfast while watching NBC's "The David Letterman Show" on my black and white portable TV, during my cub reporting days in Florida. 
Most people I know don't remember Dave used to be on in daylight.
Motivated by his humor and shtick I'd head to work with a smile on my face and some "Davisms" to share with my fellow newspaper co-workers.
I am not surprised that Dave is retiring. I know how hard it is to be funny. That's why you have not seen me crank out this blog on a consistent basis. It's hard to be funny, and I'm writing for a much less demanding audience.
Can you imagine having to come up with an entertaining "Top Ten List'' five days a week, let alone an entire hour each night of fun and crazy?
Dave's been pretty funny for more than three decades. He is the longest-serving late-night host in TV history.  Aside from quintuple bypass surgery, a writers' strike, and switching networks, Dave has not missed many days of work. 
 Thursday he told CBS president and CEO Les Moonves, his boss, he will retire sometime in 2015, when his contract is to expire.
The timing was good. He had outlasted Jay Leno, who left NBC's "Tonight Show," this year.
Dave, 66, has not yet been obliterated by the youthful Jimmy(s), Kimmel and now Fallon, in the current fight for the highly coveted late-night audience. But I have to admit, I have not watched as much Dave as I have Fallon in the past month. 
I will have to move attending a "Late Show" taping toward the top of my bucket list now that Dave has set a deadline. I can't tell you how many times I have looked on line to get tickets, and or dropped by the closed box office during trips to New York.
Even last summer I strolled under that iconic marquee at the Ed Sullivan Theater, and thought I would try again the next time.

***

Dave's body is not even room temperature (I hear the studio is kept at near-freezing) and people are talking about who will replace him. Since no one will ever really replace Dave, I hope TV execs at CBS will do something different and put a woman behind that late-night desk. Women, after all, make up more than half the audience. I hope they won't overlook Tina Fey and Jane Lynch.

I will take a pass, because it just is too hard to be funny all the time.