For you Chicagoans: Ray Rayner died (well, like a year ago)

Wow, I didn't know he died. UrbanLenny posted the link. For those of you not lucky enough to grow up in Chicago, Ray Rayner was THE daily staple for all the with-it 5 year olds in the late 1960s. I used to watch Captain Kangaroo until my brother MADE me switch to Ray Rayner - I was quickly sucked in.

(As an aside, I ran into Captain Kangaroo in downtown Chicago about ten years ago - I was walking out of Fields, he was walking in, and I literally bumped into him - freaked the hell out of me, I was speechless - he had the same haircut and everything!)

Anyway, Ray's dog, Cuddly Dudley, was a regular visitor (and he's the dog you saw below in my picture of my tree). Wow, this was like a MAJOR show when I was a kid - the Sesame Street of its time (though maybe we already had Sesame street, not sure, but Ray was still "it"). Wow, getting older sucks.