All of these famous people are just dying left and right. Darren McGavin, Dennis Weaver, Don Knotts, Kirby Puckett yesterday and I've just recently heard Dana Reeve passed on last night. Puckett and Reeve weren't exactly what you'd consider old, either.

What is going on??

Dana Reeve had lung cancer, and the other D's were pretty old (odd how they were all "D", eh?). Only Puckett's stroke was completely out of the blue.

Still sad though.

Dana Reeve had lung cancer, and the other D's were pretty old (odd how they were all "D", eh?).  Only Puckett's stroke was completely out of the blue.

Still sad though.

Yeah, but I can't recall so many famous persons dying within such a small range of time of each other.

You've often heard that saying - they happen in 3s. Sad, though.

Only Puckett's stroke was completely out of the blue.

Not completely out of the blue...he had other ailments.

He had to retire early because of glaucoma. He had tried surgery, but it didn't restore his vision to the point where he could see a baseball. His abilities, especially his defense, defied his physique. He was a man who loved the game and that people enjoyed being around. RIP, Kirby.

Ok, here's my brush with Kirby:

I was a kid (can't remember my age). My dad had ordered tickets to a future game (over the phone) & we went to the ticket office @ the Metrodome to pick them up. Who was at the ticket office, chatting with the ticket staff? Kirby Puckett. Apparently he had stopped by the dome to "pick up his paycheck". At that age, I wasn't that interested in baseball--so I didn't even know who this guy was. When we walked in, Kirby came over & introduced himself & stopped to chat with myself, my father, and my brother. He was a total "people-person". Loved to talk. Loved to socialize. Really a great guy. That was just a 5-minute span of time for Puck but became a cherished, lifetime memory for myself and my brother. That's just the type of guy that he was. Twin Cities radio has been filled with stories just like these all day long. Peter Gammons has mentioned that a non-autographed Kirby Puckett baseball card might be more rare than an autographed one.

BTW, he drove away in a Buick Riviera (license-plate: "34-PUCK"). Gotta love those GM-fans!