This weekend America says farewell to two great heroes.
Aretha Franklin gave us all so much pleasure with her music. She's been the soundtrack for our lives. And her fight for good -- for civil rights and women's rights -- was a tremendous help. And now, as we are hearing, she did so much to help others, in a quiet and unheralded way.
We call out to her with R-E-S-P-E-C-T as she goes home, probably in a pink Cadillac.
At the same time, we say farewell to Senator John McCain. He was a hero and a patriot in many ways, from the skies over Viet Nam to the halls of Congress. He has set an example of courage, class and compassion, which we hope some of our leaders today would follow.
We salute Sen. McCain as we thank him for a lifetime of service to this great nation and to the world.
On a more personal note, this weekend marks a time I say farewell to Steve Miller, my California cousin who died Wednesday. Although we lived nearly 3,000 miles apart, we always enjoyed a special connection. When we'd see each other, even if several years had passed, we'd pick up the conversation as if we had just seen each other the week before. "73," Stevie.
Photo: Steve, Michael and me in Hollywood, Dec. 2017