There is a very popular radio program in my hometown called "The Sam and Bob Show." I'm sure they'll allow me license to borrow the name for just a moment. The "Sam" in my reference is Sam Phillips. And the "Bob"... well, who else but Bob Hope. Both gone within the Fortnight ... but what blazing brands they left on our fabric.

Ask most Americans if they ever saw Bob Hope in person, and many would say no. But ask most American servicemen and women who set foot on foreign soil the same question, and the answer is probably yes. Or, at least he always seemed to be nearby. This man, who was born 66 days before the first airplane ever left the ground, would make stops for troops from Europe to North Africa, from Beirut to Siagon, from Seoul to the Persian Gulf, and a thousand other duty stations along the way. Put a camouflaged stage in a remote troop station, and Bob Hope was there.

What Bob Hope had in morale building and entertainment, Sam Phillips had in guts and hunches. His Memphis Recording Services, dba Sun Records, complete with two mikes, a mixer, and a crude reverb unit became the launchpad for "B.B.", Jerry Lee, and yes, Elvis. His hunch was that Rock 'n Roll was colorblind. And his guts allowed him to pull it off, and prove it to the rest of us.

This is not a sad Fortnight. For, between the two of them, Bob Hope and Sam Phillips spent a combined 180 years on this earth ... and contributed literally billions of smiles and toe-taps to all of us along the way. Thanks for the memories, and get off of ma' Blue Suede Shoes !!