Barbara Walters’ special tonight on ABC is quite thought provoking.. David Letterman, years ago, had Regis Philbin on his show where they spoke about a typical check up.. The day after, the entertainment world was shocked to learn of Letterman’s dramatic and necessary open heart surgery.. When Letterman came back, Robin Williams appeared as a doctor making light of Letterman’s surgery. Regis had his own open heart surgery in 2007.. Robin Williams in 2009.

While of course I am not at all simplifying the issue of claiming there is anything ‘contagious’ about open heart surgery, but the reason I bring it up is that these three influential people–not to mention President Bill Clinton, reporter Charlie Rose, and reporter Barbara Walters–would have all been potentially taken away from earth and placed into the next realm..

Were they are to have succumbed to their ultimate fate, there would be plenty of lessons left untaught..

The biggest names of our generation all had the same disease.. And amazingly they are all alive to tell us why we need to stay on guard for the same thing.