Daily Dirt: If Kevin Bacon has his own day, Donna Mills certainly should

On this day we recognize a wide variety of famous types, ranging from Larry Bird to (be still, my beating heart …) Donna Mills … welcome to Vol. 148 of the Daily Dirt and today’s three thoughts.

1. There’s plenty to celebrate this time of the year, including the following:

Dec. 11, Magnum, P.I. Day: I was never a big Tom Selleck fan until “Blue Bloods” came along.

Dec. 16, Chocolate-Covered Anything Day: OK, name three things you would NOT like to eat covered in college. I’ll go first: hot dogs, hamburgers and spaghetti. Your turn.

Dec. 18, Answer the Phone Like Buddy the Elf Day: For the record, Buddy the Elf’s real name was Buddy Hobbs.

Dec. 21, Crossword Puzzle Day: I hate crossword puzzles. Hate ’em. I will not be celebrating come Dec. 21.

Dec. 22, Be A Lover of Silence Day: Whoever came up with this concept must have had grandkids.

Dec. 26, Whiners Day: This holiday dates to 1986, and also includes a Whiner of the Year. Among the past winners are Lindsay Lohan and Donald Trump.

Dec. 28, Chocolate Day: Not to be confused with the Dec. 16 celebration.

Dec. 30, Bacon Day: One of the prerequisites for celebrating this day is to watch a minimum of three Kevin Bacon TV programs or movies. 

2. If I had my way …

• There would be a celebrity eating contest each week on network television, both a men’s and women’s division. Hot dogs one week, hamburgers the next, followed by maybe pancakes, then ice cream … you get the idea.
• MLB would expand to 32 franchises and reorganize into eight four-team divisions.
• All adults over age 60 would have access to a free course at a local high school or community college to understand things like “streaming” and other modern wizardry needed to watch certain programs and movies.
• The late Lee Elder would have his highly respected name placed on one of the significant PGA season-ending awards. Elder, the first Black golfer to play in the Masters, died Nov. 28 at age 87.

3. Some holiday birthdays to remember:

• Johnny Bench: The Hall of Fame catcher will be 74 on Tuesday
• Larry Bird: One of the NBA’s all-time great players — and trash talkers — turns 65, also on Tuesday.
• Donna Mills: One of the finest actresses of our time, the legendary Mills played “Abby” on “Knots Landing”. She will be 79 on Dec. 11.

And for those no longer with us, but not forgotten:

• Frank Sinatra: The Chairman of the Board would have been 106 on Dec. 12. Muddy River News czar J. Robert Gough often is caught humming “Strangers in the Night” around the MRN board room.
• Kirk Douglas: The legendary actor was 103 when he died in 2020. He was born Dec. 9, 1916.
• Ted Knight: One of my all-time favorite character actors was born on Dec. 7, 1923. He died in 1986 at age 62. His finest hours were spent as Ted Baxter on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”.

Steve Fact O’ The Day
Steve was once in love with — oh heck, he still is — the incredible Donna Mills.

Steve Eighinger writes for Muddy River News. He says give Donna Mills all the Emmys.