Sunday – 18 January 2026
Tomorrow is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I still haven’t decided what I want to do to honor the MLK Day of Service. But, I will figure something out…

I am a long-time fan of David Letterman. I know that seems to be a complete non-sequitur when compared to the paragraph above. But, bear with me, I’ll tie it together. Promise.

As I mentioned above, I’m a long-time Letterman fan. Watching Late Night with David Letterman was a part of my high school and college years. When he left NBC and moved to The Late Show with David Letterman at CBS, I followed him there. I’ve realized, recently, that aside from some of the wackier elements of his shows, I have missed watching Dave’s interactions with his guests. His banter. The way he interacted to them. The way he’d pull some of the most unusual and weird stories out of them… and his reactions what he’d hear and learn. Many people, mistakenly, tend to think of him as someone who slung witty quips and jabs at his guests, but they don’t recall that he tried to have engaging conversations with people.

I’ve known that Mr. Letterman’s had a series, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, on Netflix for a few years, but I’ve never made an effort to watch it until tonight. I watched S1E1: “It’s a Whole New Ballgame Now,” on which his guest was former President of the United States Barack Obama. In the episode they discussed what it was like – for both of them – on their first day after they were no longer at “their old jobs.” Needless to say, they had vastly different answers. From there, it became more of a traditional interview, ranging from Pres. Obama’s early years, to his early political career to his presidency and post-presidency.

At one point, Dave brought up the late Congressman John Lewis. The interview then cut to footage of Misters Lewis and Letterman talking as they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, in Selma, Alabama. Congressman Lewis discussed his experience on the first attempt to cross the bridge and the violence with which he and those with him encountered. He then talked about the second march and how successful it was. President Obama noted that Congressman Lewis’ path greatly influenced his decision to go into politics.

Near the end of the interview, President Obama was able to turn the table a bit and ask Dave a question: “Don’t you say to yourself, ‘Boy, do I feel lucky?'” Dave responded with a very heartfelt and serious answer:

“Mr. President, this is what I am struggling with at this point in my life. I have been nothing but lucky. When John Lewis and his friends were marching across that bridge in April of 1965… March of 1965… in April of 1965, me and my friends were driving to Florida to get on a cruise ship to go to the Bahamas – because there was no age limit to purchase alcohol – and we spend the entire week, pardon my French, shit-faced. WHY wasn’t I in Alabama? WHY was I not aware? I have been nothing but lucky… and the luck continues here this evening.”

Throughout this interview, I realized how much I appreciated and missed David Letterman’s repartee. Fortunately, I have six (6) seasons of My Next Guest to remind me. Kicking the series off with President Obama was a great start. And getting to listen to the late Congressman Lewis was an added bonus.

“Action” doesn’t always require a massive effort. Neither does service. Sometimes, it can be a simple act of kindness. Or thoughtfulness. Of course, it can be more, but we don’t need to set ourselves up to climb mountains when there’s only a molehill – or even an anthill – in front of us. I’d like to thank all three gentlemen for reminding me of that.