With the King of Pop’s death there have been a lot of comparisons to him and the King of Rock. One point of interest are the predictions that Michael Jackson’s funeral crowd may be larger than Elvis Presley’s.

Some 75,000 people lined the streets of Memphis to say goodbye to Elvis (above). But not even Elvis could top the mourning masses who turned out for another celebrity’s funeral:

When silent film star Rudolph Valentino died in 1923 in New York, 100,000 people crowded the streets to mourn “The Sheik”. No celebrity since has topped that (unless you count Princess Diana, which I don’t, since she was real royalty.)

A few people have asked me, ‘Well, what about Marilyn Monroe’s funeral?’ – surely the most famous Hollywood icon of them all had a record turn out.

Actually, at the insistence of Joe DiMaggio, Marilyn’s final rites were limited to around thirty attendees; the press actually outnumbered the family and friends.

The roses in the window box
Have tilted to one side
Everything about this house
Was born to grow and die

On a recent visit to the office, I took Tyce on a tour while his father attended to some business. We checked out all the things that little six year old boys like best in a large office complex: the candy machine, escalators and fish.

This week he is in Alaska for his uncle’s wedding. He’s not so much excited about the wedding (of course) – instead, he’s “looking for Bigfoot.” Monsters always and easily trump candy machines, escalators and fish.

You’re only six,
Believe magic tricks,
And wishing on a star.

Today, I can hold you,
Tomorrow, who knows what you’ll do
When you leave my world, what will the world do to you

It was this week during the height of the Great Depression (1936) that one of the most famous novels of all time was published. I’ve read it – twice in fact – and it’s a memorable if not difficult read.

Tomorrow is Another Day by Margaret Marsh was a panoramic novel of the Civil War and Reconstruction, centered around the romantic antics of Pansy O’Hara, a feisty southern belle who lived at her family’s antebellum plantation, Fontenoy Hall, and the great love of her life, Rhett Butler –

- Wait. Sounds familiar, but something is not quite right …

That’s because between the time that the author presented her finished manuscript to her publisher and it hit the book stores, several changes were made. Margaret’s maiden name was selected as her pen name and the novel’s main character had her name changed, also. Pansy became Scarlett. Fontenoy Hall became Tara. And most importantly, Tomorrow is Another Day was rejected as a viable title because the publisher felt there were too many books with similar titles. A line from an Ernest Dowson poem was selected and the book became known as Gone With The Wind.

An excellent review of the book can be found at Becky’s Book Reviews. As I said at the start of this post, it is not an easy read. Mitchell’s usage of spot-on dialogue is a lesson in linguistics itself and then there’s the obvious issue of racism splattered throughout the story line. Scarlett and her associates were slave owning Southern aristocrats with timely if not inappropriate mind sets. There are more sub-plots than the film version ever hinted at and the character development is detailed, almost painfully so.

“There is depth and meaning that the movie doesn’t even try to accommodate. Depth and meaning that even diehard fans can’t help but learn something new with each rereading.” – Becky, Becky’s Book Reviews

Love it or hate it, it is one of the most popular and best selling novels of all time. Readers usually fall into one of two camps – those who find it compelling and endearing and those who, frankly, just don’t give a damn.

Song, song of the south
Sweet potato pie and shut my mouth
Gone, gone with the wind
There ain’t nobody looking back again

It’s still a bull market in the boneyard.

Last year Elvis Presley made more money than Justin Timberlake. He just didn’t get to spend it. The “King of Rock-n-Roll” may be in for the run of his … umm, death. With the “King of Pop” dying last week, there’s a good chance that by the time Forbes Magazine releases their Top-Earning Dead Celebrities list near year’s end, Michael Jackson may de-thrown Elvis.

If music sales this weekend are any indication, the race may already be on. Amazon has reported that Jackson music accounted for 60% of all music sales since the pop icon died Thursday. When I fired up iTunes, Jackson had eight out of the top ten songs and seven of the top ten albums. It’s going to be a close race … it might be one of those where the winner wins by a nose. And yes, pun intended.

When I am dead, my dearest,
Sing no sad songs for me;
Plant thou no roses at my head,
Nor shady cypress tree