That's why reading the obituary pages can make for a wonderful end of the work day ritual.  For starters, you get to celebrate that you are not included in the Grim Reaper's printed roll call (or as my wife likes to call it, the Irish Sports Page) and you are provided with a somewhat exaggerated view of the good done by a person in their lives.  I'm not just talking about eulogies of the rich and famous, but the regular folks who lived their lives in seeming obscurity until they departed from this earth. They are celebrated for being the neighborhood's best plumbing contractor, football coach or local ice cream stand owner.  When you think about it, these types of people have had the most meaning in our lives, but we just never seemed to take the time to notice them until they have gone to the happy hunting grounds.  One literary politician I know aptly described these salt of the earth folks as "the invisible people."  She meant it in a nice way - pointing out the nobility that is inherent in every individual - no matter how rich, poor, homely or homespun.

This is why I had to smile at the eulogies of two wonderful icons of my life that left us this past week. One famous for making a mark of melody in my mind and the other, not so well known individual, for the miracle snack food he created.  The world is now a little smaller for the deaths of these paragons of Americana - Mitch Miller, the orchestra leader and Morrie Yohai, the creator of the Cheez Doodle.  Both bring warm feelings to mind.  Anyone who grew up in the 60's and 70's - those wonder years of television -  can't help but remember crowding around the TV screen as a family to watch "Sing along with Mitch."  The show introduced some of the most amazing singers - virtual unknowns but soon to be superstars like Tony Bennett, Patti Page, Rosemary Clooney and Johnny Mathis.  Watching these shows was like a showcase of Susan Boyles - wonderful voices coming out of the mouths of the next generation of gold record artists.  However, the best part of Miller's shows was the sing-along.  Miller directed his orchestra while the words to the melodies scrolled along the bottom of the TV screen.  This was a highlight of television's Golden Age. Think of those I Love Lucy and Bonanza episodes. The stars of these shows knew that touching people's emotions personally left deep and lasting impressions.  Mitch Miller did this well.

The Cheez Doodle really needs no reason for a celebration.  This snack food ranks right up there with the Slinky and Chia Pet in my memory bank (make that my fun file).  Each time you crunched one in your mouth - you had a virtual party happening with every bite.  Yohai's eulogy was quick to point out that no matter that the Cheez Doodle made him and his family a wealthy clan, he was never one to take credit for its creation - which he always credited as a collaboration with his fellow colleagues (he did take credit for coming up with the great name). Somehow a cheese chip, cheese drops or cheese rocks don't elicit a smile like the "Doodle."

Reputations live on for many reasons.  Go home tonight. Find an easy chair. Turn on your iPhones and sing out loud with the gusto to a Mitch Miller tune. And don't forget to have the bag of Cheez Doodles, too. Yohai would have wanted it this way.