Godspeed, John.

As we get older, we become more and more nostalgic about our past. This especially happens when someone from our past disappears from our lives forever. It may be an old friend or just someone we knew and loved from afar. Sure, it's an inevitable fact of life, as we get older, people pass away. But, every once in a while, someone's passing really makes you stop and think about how much happiness that person brought into your life, even if the two of you never actually met.

And so it was with a heavy heart that I read about the death of John Majhor yesterday. He was a man that every Canadian from my generation will never forget. The eighties: the days of big hair, jelly shoes and the birth of mainstream music videos. Back then, we had no MTV, no MuchMusic...the only thing us Canucks had was a little show called Toronto Rocks hosted by a local DJ named John Majhor. John sat in a tiny little area that looked to be the size of a closet. There were no flashy sets, no special guests, it was just us and John watching music videos together.

But this wasn't just any ordinary music video show, it was THE show. Everyone watched it! I remember rushing home from school every day so I could be home in time for Toronto Rocks. I still have the video tape that has the clip of when my high school appeared on the show. It was a quick 5 minute segment about our school releasing a bunch of balloons with tags on them so people who found them could tell us where they were and send the tags back to us. It was our way of "putting our school on the map" - at least, that's what the president of the student council said at the time. (I believe one balloon actually made it as far as Quebec.) But, really, none of us cared about any of that. We were going to be on Toronto Rocks and that was all that mattered!

If teenagers today were to watch an old clip of the show, I'm sure they would laugh at the set, the wardrobe, and the general lack of bells and whistles that seem to come with today's video channels. But, people from my generation, we'd watch the same clip with fond nostalgia and a big smile on our faces. John Majhor wasn't just a random host to us. He was a pioneer, an icon, and a true friend...even if we'd never actually met him.

Rock on, John! And thank you.