Well you have all been reading about our wonderful vacation, you would think we were not like normal people and never got away. Oh wait...we aren't like normal people and we NEVER get away! But the ten days we spent exploring western Oregon left me with a lot of stories, most of which you will hear eventually

I have told you about the great beach house where we stayed in Lincoln City, compliments of my cousin Phyllis and her husband Tom, but there are so many things that happened while we were there, I have to say more. Besides the coziness of the atmosphere in the beach cottage, they also had it stocked with just about anything you could desire for a restful getaway. One night, in front of a roaring fire, we decided to play cards and watch some of the videos they had collected.

Since the beach house doesn't have any cable, watching TV was out unless you watched a video. This is a perfect scenario for me, as a self proclaimed news junkie I was forced to separate myself from the day to day activities of our country. This was the perfect time for that and I actually enjoyed looking through their selection of TV viewing on videos. They had all the classics, Carol Burnett, The Three Stooges, Shirley Temple, and much, much more.

We settled on watching the complete collection of Johnny Carson's stint as host of the Tonight Show. Actually, we didn't plan on watching the entire collection, we just put one in and then we couldn't help ourselves. The true genius of this man took our breath away. We laughed so much, and at times it was like seeing an old friend, we would remember the particular clip and enjoy it that much more seeing it again.

He was a true comedian. He didn't need to cuss, or use in your face tactics to get a laugh. All he needed was to look at the camera with a blank stare on his face, and the next thing you knew...you were laughing. His timing was like no other, the perfect pause, the perfect hang your head, the perfect stare. We could not get over how we had grown up with this comic genius, literally taking him for granted.

They also had the video of Johnny's encounters with animals. This in itself was the perfect compliment to the story of Johnny's life. The way he would fearlessly approach any kind of animal was great, and at the same time be fearful of the slightest thing. It is a laugh just thinking of it.

So, as we sat in front of a beautiful fireplace, in a perfect beach house, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, getting totally distracted from our card game. And, as my husband said at one point, "A pie in the face truly is funny if it is done right." Johnny Carson, a true comic genius. We will miss him even more now.