The End of Life as We Know It

Several goodbyes are in order today:

The Food Pyramid (replaced by the Plate). In the new round version, meat consumption is shrinking while veggie & fruit portions get a big push. Those who abide by the Word of Wisdom will be pleased, as there are still no designations for coffee, tea, tobacco or alcohol.

Death-with-dignity advocate Dr. Jack Kervokian, who said he helped at least 130 people die via physician-assisted suicide and even had eight years of prison time to show for it. Not many folks are made of such mettle these days.

He got the hell out of Dodge: Gunsmoke's James Arness, the hunky actor who, as Marshall Matt Dillion, kept the streets clear of riff raff in Dodge City for 20 years on TV. For those who recall/care about such things, his brother, the Mission Impossible actor Peter Graves, died in March 2010.

On a related "Western" note: The 2011 Days of '47 All Horse Parade, which was to have taken place on July 12 at the Sandy South Towne Center, is cancelled this year because of a recent outbreak in Ogden of equine herpes virus, EHV-1.

Finally, there is the matter of former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards' ass, which he had to kiss goodbye some time ago but which can now be seen hurtling back from the outer reaches, about to crash into his head.