"...And What About That Whole Three's A Crowd Thing?...Yeah, What About THAT?..."

Got three minutes?

Read this.

And what follows.

http://voices.yahoo.com/do-celebrities-really-die-groups-three-852079.html

Nicely written slant on the whole "dying in three's" thing, a crowd favorite that with the recent passings of Duck Dunn, Donna Summer and, yesterday, Robin Gibb has reared its mythological head once again.

Or would that be for the third time?

Here's the thing about the thing, though.

It's not really about a number.

It's about relativity.

Duck Dunn, Donna Summer and Robin Gibb.

That, for many, as of this moment, makes three.

At this same moment, though, a lot of my friends, collegues and peers are saddened by the news of the passing, today, of Rusty Walker, a much respected, well known (inside the radio industry) broadcast consultant.

Celebrity? Well his passing has already appeared as a headline in several well known radio and/or country music publications and website, so, yeah, celebrity.

Ergo, I think it would not be unreasonable to ask the aforementioned friends, collegues and peers....is Rusty's passing actually the fourth of that group, negating the whole dying in 3's thing or is his passing the first passing of the next group of three?

By the way, the whole "3" thing got its "start", according to legend in 1959 with the plane crash deaths of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper.

With assorted re-inforcment through the years including, but not limited to, the 1977 plane crash that killed three members of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Thank heaven the Osmond Family tour plane never went down or we'd be dealing today with the "dying in 27's" thing.

Due respect, sincere condolences to the respective families on their losses and tongue removed from cheek, here's the other thing about the dying in 3's thing.

Pish.

Tosh.

It's one of those little impish activities the human brain likes to conjure up for us to amuse itself, enthrall us and amaze and dazzle your friends and family.

But, from an empirically logical point of view, it's very much like this old chestnut.

"you always find what you're looking for in the last place you look....."

Well, hello.

Of course, you do.

Because when you find something....you stop looking for it, so, naturally, it's the...last place you look.

Unless, of course, you're one of those people who looks for things in groups of three.