Please Take Care of Yourself, Michael

“Little House on the Prairie” has always been one of my favorite programs. So much so, that a couple of years ago that I wrote a fan letter to “Mrs. Oleson,” (Katherine MacGregor) and, as a result, a short-term pen-pal relationship developed.

Today I was watching one of those old re-runs which featured a scene with a virile Michael Landon walking around in all his glory; pants and suspenders pulled up over shirtless shoulders. He was quite a specimen.

My wife could not help interject.

“Whoa. Look at that boy!”

To which I responded,

“Impressive. But don’t look now. He doesn’t look exactly like that anymore.”

Sadly, Michael Landon, star of “Bonanza,” “Touched By An Angel,” and “Little House On The Prairie” contracted pancreatic cancer in 1990. I recall watching a segment of “The Tonight Show” during the period in which the TV star was fighting for his life. In this particular segment Landon was interviewed by Johnny Carson, and was asked about the malady. The actor responded with a smile, and the assurance that he was doing everything possible to recover from the dread diagnosis, and his expectation that things would turn out well. It didn’t.

Michael Landon succumbed to his illness in 1991.

As I watched that old segment of “Little House on the Prairie” today, and the buff, young actor proceeded to “strut his stuff,” I almost said,

“Please take care of yourself, Michael.”

It is an odd sensation to, with the assistance of time and re-runs, realize the ultimate end of some of those we’ve come to know and love,

… and yet feel altogether helpless to do anything about it.

By William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from "(Mc)Donald's Daily Diary" Vol. 5