Books authored by Dr. James Dyet. Purchase on JamesDyet.com

Monday, January 21, 2008

Susanne Pleshette Has Died

Suzanne Pleshette, age 70, died two days ago of respiratory failure. She had received chemotherapy in 2006 for lung cancer. I remember her best as Emily Hartley,
Bob Newhart’s wise and amiable schoolteacher wife.

When the Bob Newhart Show entertained a faithful TV, our family laughed along with millions of viewers. Having worked in Chicago’s Loop during my student days at Moody Bible Institute, I chuckled every time the program’s introduction showed Bob walking across a Chicago River bridge on his way to the office. I took the same route every workday afternoon to reach my jobsite at 22 W. Madison Street, just west of State Street. Sometimes, the trek across the bridge in winter was brutal. I know how Bob must have felt.

A couple of Christmases ago, our son Brian gave us a DVD series of Bob Newhart shows. I wish TV programming would return to the simpler but funnier times of the likes of Bob, my favorite psychologist, and his wife Emily. We don’t have much wholesome entertainment that makes us laugh about now.

Suzanne Pleshette’s death offers a stark reminder that death is inevitable and life is brief. I used to think 70 was a ripe old age. Now that I am 72, 70 doesn’t seem old. I suppose, if the Lord keeps me alive until 82. I won’t think 80 is old. But life does move along at a fast pace, bringing us inevitable to our final breath on planet Earth.

Unlike life on Earth, life in eternity never ends. But each of us must choose in this life where we will spend eternity. I’m glad the Lord persuaded me a long time ago to trust in Jesus Christ as my Savior. Heaven is my eternal home.

The experience of walking across the bridge over the Chicago River is etched in my memory, but the experience of crossing the bridge from sin to salvation and from Earth to heaven is etched forever in my soul. Jesus is the Bridge.

No comments: