Loss of a Celeb

I spent some time trying to figure out what to name this blog post. Kansas City lost a very prominent figure but as much as he is a celebrity, he was a friend to almost everyone. Don Harman has worked for Fox4 as a weatherman for as long as I can remember being in Kansas City. He was always super funny and even after his baby girl was born, seemed to be chipper. He would talk about his family and ask for ideas. He would respond to emails and questions on Facebook. He made mornings start with a smile, regardless of how late I had been up or how little sleep I had gotten. I am reading stories from people who talk about how he would penpal their children ... things he has done for charity ... his love for teaching oddities of weather and science. I will forever miss Don Harman and what he has done for Kansas City. I ache for his family and for Fox4 as a whole. He leaves behind shoes that will be very hard to fill.

That brings me to another issue today brought. I was asked about Don Harman news last night ... LAST NIGHT. Apparently some news station in another town had a slip-up and said something. I did a lot of investigating and was pretty much confirmed before I went to bed but I said NOTHING because Fox4 was very clear that we should respect family. *which was also what was pretty clear* Got up this morning and there was nothing mentioned on the news about anyone passing away ... just simply a statement that people had questions and while they respect those questions, family comes first. So again, I said nothing specific. I knew for certain but was respectful of the family. What upsets me greatly is EVERYONE else in the KC metro who claim to respect Fox4 and the family and yet blasted his name and R.I.P. Could you imagine what it would have been like to see that on Facebook if you didn't know and you were a family member. The thought devastates me ... and angers me. I can't believe the lack of tact and the rudeness MANY of the residents in my city showed by starting a fan group saying RIP (which was open for ANYONE to see) and claiming they had the right to put it up. Sure, you have the right but it is still tactless.  I think anyone that was careless enough to post his name before an official announcement was made was disrespectful. I was very careful in my wording and was thanked for it by the Fox4 team. Death is a very sensitive thing and what people don't realize is while you were watching him on tv for the last 10 years ... the family at Fox4 were working side by side and dealing with that persons ups and downs for the last 10 years. I can not imagine the amount of pain they are in. I can't imagine the questions that are going through their minds. Were there signs they should have seen? Could they have done anything to prevent this? All of the what ifs. Don leaves behind a wife and a very young daughter who will never get to see how hilariously funny her dad could be. A daughter who will never have her dad prep her for dating and deal with heartbreak. A dad who will never be there to walk her down the aisle or be there when her child takes his/her first breath. All of these things just break my heart. I can not begin to imagine how much pain he must have been in to think that this was it. I don't think it was too much to ask to not put anything on social media until after an official statement had been released. While KC Star says that Mark Alford read something at 4:45am, no one who I know was up at that time watching saw it and it was most definitely not on their website, Twitter or Facebook pages. All that was said was to respect family. :'( I just had expected so much more out of Kansas City ... especially with someone who had nothing but Kansas City at heart when he did things. *sigh*