[MRM]

My sons are too young to have seen Cosby when he was still performing, so they asked me what it was like to me to see Cosby on trial for such horrible crimes. As I thought about it, I realized what a huge influence he was to young men my age. I grew up watching the cartoon Bill Cosby Show with Fat Albert and the gang, listening to his comedy albums, watching his comedy concerts on HBO, and watching all his TV shows. He was clean, professional, and insanely funny. My friends and I constantly spouted his lines at each other. Many of the expressions I used on my kids came from him. This was the first time they heard that "I brought you into this world, I'll take you out" came from Cosby, as did the chocolate cake story, and a million other sayings that they grew up with. I told them it's hard for them to understand what a clean image he had and how beloved he was to three generations. It's just too sad to contemplate.