Rant #4,034: Love Is Like a Rock

Just to begin and try to get back to the normal workings of this Blog, we have two unfortunate passings to report.

The first is Walter Koenig, who played Chekhov in the "Star Trek" series, and whose character kept that show afloat when it was nearly canceled.

NBC was going to cancel the show due to poor ratings, but one of the network's suggestions to keep the show afloat was that a new character be created to gain younger teenybop fans, and they suggested a "Davy Jones"-type to fit that need.

Koenig was their man, and he became one of the most popular members of the cast, and is the answer to the trivia question, "Who were the three members of the 'Star Trek' cast who, in real life, were Jewish?"

Answer: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and yes, Walter Koenig.

The other death to report was that of Donnie Iris, a guy who never became a real big star in the realm of the rock and roll galaxy, but he was as near as you could possibly come without reaching that goal.

First, as a member of the Jaggerz, best known for "The Rapper"; then, as a member of Wild Cherry, best known for "Play That Funky Music White Boy"; and then on his own, when his music was all over the FM dial, with near hits "Ah Leah" and "Love Is Like a Rock."

The guy looked like Buddy Holly, was very proudly from Pittsburgh, Pa., and he rocked with the best of them during the early 1980s.

Koenig was 90 when he died on Sunday; Iris was 83 when he died on Monday.

Life goes on, I guess.

And the countdown continues to my daughter's marriage.

Step by step, inch by inch, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second.

I want to tell you that the setting will be a nice one ...

At a vineyard way out in Southhold on Long Island, and since it is fall, it promises to be pretty picturesque.

The setting is sure to be a nice one, but beyond that, I just really don't know.

I don't know if my daughter will be costumed as "The Bride of Frankenstein" and the groom will have on his "Frankenstein Monster" groove, but I will have on my "Father of the Bride" oufit, which I don't think will scare anyone off.

Most people there will be in costume of one sort or another, and while I won't be wearing my Sunday suit, I won't be wearing any type of Halloween costume.

Just a nice shirt, nice pants, shoes, and a big smile on my face, which I hope is not a take on the old "False Face" character on "Batman."

But my immediate family will be there, as well as a couple of friends, but you can bet that I won't know about 90 percent of the people there, and will never see them again after the wedding.

That is fine with me ...

And then you throw in my daughter's mother and her relatives, and you just know that while I will be cordial to them, I won't ever see them again either, which is fine with me, too.

So I just have to look at the whole thing as just maybe six hours out of my whole life, six hours of possible pain and torture, or maybe six hours of joy, and that is that.

Yes, I will get through it all ...

I simply don't like that I am being treated as just another guest at a wedding that is supposed to be so different, yet is so like any other traditional wedding.

This was not what I wanted for my daughter, but this is what she wants, and I guess that is the main thing.

I truly love her, so I have to go along with it.

And sometimes, be careful for what you wish for ...

Because you get exactly what you want--

And that isn't always a good thing.

(P.S.: And as I was writing this, I learned that Susan Saint James died at age 80. She was most famous for her roles in "McMillan and Wife" and "Kate and Allie," and I just remember her early days on the former show, with Rock Hudson, and how the show fizzled out when she left it in a salary dispute. And I also remember that she had really nice hair, whether she wore it long or short. Funny that I remember such things.)