Goodbye Youth - David Letterman Is Off the Air

Head in my hands.  Eyes fixated on the screen.  Bedtime come and gone.  I'm 11 years old and Letterman is on.  No rushing me to bed tonight as my whole family's eyes are glued to the screen.

I wasn't raised in a stern household, but homework and bedtime were staple rules that were rarely broken.  You did your school work and you got to bed at a reasonable hour.  But 11:35pm tended to be a special moment on the clock.  I was raised in a Letterman household.  Parents born of the Johnny Carson era, there wasn't even an option.  Not even an idea that the remote would make it's way over to that Leno character.  My mother the writer admired Dave's self deprecating spirit.  My father the actor squinted with glee when Dave would ask the fateful question, "will it float?"

There's no truely putting into words what the career of David Letterman has meant to my family.  Some families gathered to watch "Homicide," (my best friends family).  Another childhood friend's household stopped when "Wheel of Fortune" was on.  Letterman brought us together, and those childhood nights staying up into the wee hours will not soon be forgotten.

So without further ado, the key moments in David Letterman's final show...
 


The final, star studded Top Ten - "Top Ten Things I've Always Wanted to Say to Dave"
 


We also can't talk about last night without tipping our hat to Conan O'Brien's touching tribute to the late night king.  O'Brien, who's show starts at 11pmPST, urged viewers to tune in to Letterman at 11:35pmPST in order to properly send off the man he said saved his career.