Jon Stewart

This is cool - I just saw this press release today.  The comedian and former host of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart, teamed up with TAPS to launch a new institute to support those who are affected by grief.  I do not know a lot about the institute yet, but Jon Stewart was one of Ryan’s favorite comedians.  For years we used to curl up on the couch in the evening, after the kids went to bed, and watch the Daily show together, usually with a small mug of ice cream or a few cookies - Ryan’s favorite were Oreoes dunked in milk, which I teased him about and still find gross - Oreos are not supposed to be soggy...  But anyway, during many years of our marriage, I was too busy with kids and homeschooling to keep up to date with current events so I joked that the Daily Show filled me in with all I needed to know.  Ryan used to say that he sure hoped that was not true.  In reality it was kind of true - when the kids were little, my two main sources of current events were the comedically shared stories from Jon Stewart and from Ryan himself.  Ryan always kept very up-to-date on current events and would share his intelligent opinion with me on what was going on any time I asked.  He truly was watching Jon Stewart for the satirical or comedic spin put on an issue Ryan already knew well and had thought deeply about.  And I always loved that Ryan had a well thought out and logical response to just about every issue or complicated story that came up.  I learned so much just asking his thoughts.  Occasionally we debated a topic or respectfully shared differing viewpoints, but I mostly agreed with his stance on a wide variety of issues.  We generally agreed on most things in life anyway.  It was another minor grief last year (they say there are several hundred “minor griefs” for every major one) when I realized I now have to pay attention and research current events, on my own, if I want to stay connected with the world.  And I do try, and even try to engage the kids in that dialog, but goodness I do miss those conversations with Ryan.  So seeing Jon Stewart’s name pop up on my radar, with the TAPS press release (below), jogged those happy memories of our evenings spent sitting on the couch together, laughing, talking, and sharing desserts (unless the Oreo was dunked in milk, those were all his!).

Jon Stewart joins TAPS to launch new Institute for Hope and Healing