Goodbye Patrick Swayze

Interrupting the ongoing road and trail elevation and tree and bird species reports to say a few words about Patrick Swayze, who as you probably know passed away today at the young age of 57 from pancreatic cancer. This year's Summer of Death claims another victim.

Swayze was one of those few movie actors that you liked no matter what the role or movie. While a lot of television actors can connect with the TV audience like that, few movie actors do. Its something about the medium. But a few movie actors bridge that gap. James Garner is probably most known, though he was more of a television actor later in his career. Travolta is another. Something about Patrick Swayze was just appealing on a personal level. Part of it may have been that he never turned into a douche like a lot of other action stars. He never jumped up and down on Oprah's couch. He never went on Arsenio and complained about the President or saving the whales. And he didn't trade in his wife for some 20 year old on the party circuit. He also readily poked holes in the image. He starred as a drag queen in "To Wong Foo," and famously starred with Chris Farley in the Saturday Night Live Chippendale's dance-off sketch. He may not have been the greatest actor of all time (signed having about three different accents in Dirty Dancing, sometimes in the same sentence). He may have been in some pretty horrible movies and been forced to slog through some highly dubious lines ("Nobody puts Baby in a corner!" or "Pain don't hurt"). But he always sold it, and you always liked him.

Maybe less well known is that Swayze, and wife Lisa Niemi, are lifelong Houstonians. Unlike stars who hit it big, he stayed connected with Houston and was always active in numerous Houston charities and other pursuits.

Swayze first hit it big in Dirty Dancing, but never really pursued roles featuring his amazing dancing talents thereafter. Swayze started in the Joffrey Ballet Company in 1972. He starred in a Broadway production of Grease, and of course you saw him dance in Dirty Dancing. He had an amazing gift for dance.

And in his final days, he fought pancreatic cancer doggedly, never giving up, continuing to make future plans and even starring in a TV series, The Beast.

So goodbye Patrick Swayze. You left far too soon.

WOLVERINES!!!