This is written with much gratitude for a man who was always kind, understanding, and welcoming to me. He has brought me much joy himself and much more joy through his sons and family.

Big Daddy started it all.

That’s what the family called him: Big Daddy. And his wife they called Mimi. Mimi passed away six months ago and Big Daddy did the same a couple of weeks ago. They were a wonderful couple who lived long and rich lives and have left quite a legacy, including three children, six grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.

I was roommates with Big Daddy’s baby boy for a while. Got to eat Thanksgiving dinner at their house, go bird hunting, skiing, crawfish boiling. To have been touched all these years by this funny family is a blessing I lucked into.

There was never a question who was in charge, and that was Big Daddy. He was a Navy veteran of the Korean War and then a standout athlete at Louisiana Tech. He was the center on the football team and an absolute, undisputed star in track: conference records in the high and low hurdles; leading scorer in the conference; on record-setting 440, 880, and mile relay teams; ran the 100 and 200 yard dashes, too.

Again, this from the football team’s starting CENTER.

He was a big, good-looking guy who built his own CPA business and loved the outdoors. All his children were taught how to ride horses and fish and water ski. He trained champion bird dogs and grew vegetables. “At family crawfish boils he enjoyed instructing his sons how to cook crawfish,” his oldest boy wrote in his eulogy, “even though he had never actually cooked any himself.” HA! That is soooo Big Daddy.

The gesture of his I remember most is when his two sons’ much-loved granddaddy passed away. He gave them his credit card and told them to take off for the camp and just be together for a few days. Which is just what they needed and exactly what they did.

“Please take time to hug your spouse, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren and tell them you love them,” his oldest son wrote. “That is what Big Daddy tried to do each and every day.”

-30-

I realize this might be Second Hand News to many of you, but Fleetwood Mac has fired Lindsey Buckingham. Yes, they told him you can Go Your Own Way.

I admit I have absolutely no idea on how the dynamics of a rock band work — this whole thing is Over My Head — and it seems to be off The Chain. Perhaps he wasn’t Fleetwood or Mac(Vie), but he is by far the most talented musician of the bunch. What is the music World Turning into?

What is the process in firing a band member? Is it a vote? If so, does it have to be a Landslide?

This is certainly not the first time that Buckingham has left/been removed from Fleetwood Mac, and many thought he was Never Going Back Again when he left the first time (in 1987). But he did return and now he is apparently gone again.

Buckingham is/was the creative genius of Fleetwood Mac and those aren’t Little Lies. But he has been notoriously hard to get along with at times. He liked to do things his way and told the other band members As Long As You Follow, things will work out fine.

Buckingham is 68 years old, so he is no (Silver) Spring chicken. As the band prepares to go on tour, it’s no great surprise there was Trouble brewing and the Dreams that everyone had of seeing a fully constituted Fleetwood Mac have been dashed. They will replace him with some guy from Crowded House and another from the Heartbreakers, but it will feel like Journey without Steve Perry. Nice try, guys, but you aren’t fooling us.

But you know, bands often find a way to work things out, so Don’t Stop believing that this might work out in the long run. It could even become one of the Seven Wonders of the world.