It seems like this year is nothing but a year of sadness and death. My heroes are all dying, and I’m slowly being left with nothing but memories.

Such is life. Such is the passage of time.

Like most folks my age I’m guessing my first introduction to Arnold Palmer was on a black and white TV screen. I don’t remember a whole lot and couldn’t tell you when I first saw him in action, but it doesn’t really matter: it’s first perceptions that last, and my first perceptions of Arnold Palmer was that: a) he was very popular and loved by a huge bunch of followers, and b) he was extremely charismatic, a larger-than-life personality, a self-made alpha male whose persona was perfect for TV, and c) he commanded my attention.

But golf was only the springboard to greater things for Arnie. He paved the way for what would be known in the marketing world as “branding”. He sold everything from motor oil to clothes (I actually bought myself an Arnold Palmer sportscoat with his trademark umbrella logo back in the mid-70s). He was the first professional athlete to have his own plane. His signature became as much a brand as the person himself. And, perhaps most importantly, the hospitals in the Orlando area that he and his wife Winnie helped found are to this day responsible for the lives and well-being of thousands of patients, young and old.

Arnold Palmer was larger than life. I’ll leave it to others to talk of his legacy and his impact on the game of golf and the professional world of sports in general. All I can say is that he was a hero of mine, my favorite golfer of all time. I never met him in person, but like so many others feel as if I knew him. His story and his journey are quintessentially American. He was an alpha male who was never afraid to show his sensitive side. I think deep down he would have fit in really well as a Goodboy.

It’s hard to see your heroes grow old and die, their bodies giving out well before their minds, their personalities, and their innate selves do. This is a bad year, a sad year. The world as I once knew it is passing me by.