Dateline June 28 2009: The first reports of famed Pitchman Billy Mays' death started trickling in during the mid-morning.  Karen and I were actually in Lexington to tie up the loose ends from our move to NC a few months prior.  We had picked up following the new Discovery series entitled Pitchmen and as the season progressed we started to relate to the fine folks at Sullivan Productions as they were cataloged.  It was a shock to both of us that Billy had passed on, just as the series was starting to get momentum.  We mourned his loss that day and for the weeks to come, including the tearful tribute show that Discovery showed after the last episode of the season.  That's right, both of us were bawling.

Even though we didn't know them personally, didn't have any direct connection to the crew except through the show, it hit both of us in a way that's indescribable.  Maybe it was his personality, his genuine smile and kind words towards all the people in his life, but Billy was able to make us smile and impacted us greatly.  We met a lot of wonderful, caring, hard working, genuine people as we slowly entered the Pitchmen community and earned the respect of it's members.  Most of those people we're in direct contact with on a daily basis today.  A blessing that Billy Mays brought us.

Love him or hate him, almost everyone knew who Billy Mays was.  "The loud guy on the TV" or "the Oxi-clean guy" but they knew him.  Discovery put Billy into our homes and gave us the real behind the scenes of the long criticized direct response industry.  It's not just a bunch of guys shilling crappy gadgets, they want to help people in their every day lives.  The products Sullivan Productions puts out are ones they test, ones they believe in.  Sully and Billy didn't pitch things they didn't believe in.

So 1 year later, my thoughts and prayers go out to Billy's family, friends, co-workers, and everyone that has a Big City Slider Station or Awesome Auger in their kitchen or garage.  Everyone that uses Oxi-Clean to wash their clothes or Kaboom to clean their tub.  Everyone that uses Mighty Putty to fix a leak or a Zorbeez to soak up your spills.  Billy Mays touched a lot of people in his short time on this Earth and though he's gone, he's still my buddy.

R.I.P Billy, we miss you.