So I’ve had my computer turned off for one day and John Updike dies. I figured I could go 36 hours or so without being in constant contact with all the latest stuff, but I was wrong. You unplug for just a day and something terrible happens.
My sister told me yesterday on the phone that he had passed, and it was the first time I’d ever been actually moved the death of a celebrity-type unknown before. The first thing I do when I get the New Yorker is read the back page comics, but the second thing I do is scan the table of contents to see if there’s anything by Updike. Unfortunately for me and the rest of the world, we’re not going to see him there anymore.
His Rabbit series has always been one of my favorite works. In it, he captured life in the second half of the 20th century. It’s my Updike evangelism recommendation, it’s probably the first thing I recommend to people who are looking for something to read. So. That’s that… I was hoping to find a Simpson’s clip on youtube where it’s revealed that Updike was Krusty’s ghost-writer, but it’s not there… yet. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.