Yippee Ki-Yay

I was saddened to see the news regarding Bruce Willis and his battle with aphasia, which battle has led him to abruptly retire from acting.  

Truthfully, I have not seen him in a memorable role in far too long.   That matters not to me.  I became a fan when I first saw him trading barbs with Cybil Shepherd in Moonlighting as private eye David Addison “We handle felonious assaults and felonies with no salt” being the type of silly banter for which the show and he became known.   

My old college friend John Gloor and I saw Die Hard for free on campus at CU-Boulder prior to its theatrical release.  I still remember the two of us walking into it expecting it to stink and walking out shouting “Yippee Ki-Yay Mother F*cker!” until we were hoarse.   He was great too in a host of other films and roles.   

I am not embarrassed to acknowledge that Armageddon is one of my favorite guilty pleasure movies.   Willis’ Harry Stamper is more than a bit of a cartoon character, which is for me what makes him so great.  He is a seriously flawed human being but in the end, he saves the day, principally for his daughter Grace but, by extension, the rest of the world too.  

May the post-public portion of his life be a peaceful one.  I know not what aphasia does to someone stricken by it.  I do know though, as a man who has watched and who continues to watch good people I love very much confront health issues for which they did not ask and which they certainly do not deserve, I am happy for Bruce Willis that he has the love and support of his family.  

-AK