An Open Letter to Alfred Matthew Yankovic

Hello Al-
I recently caught the episode of Shatner's Raw Nerve with you as the guest. I'm a huge fan of yours, and as such I've learned a lot about you over the years through other interviews and Biography episodes, and even The Compleat Al. And although that episode with Shatner had to be extremely difficult for you, I wanted to let you know how much I appreciated your being open and honest in telling your story.

Let me first say that when your parents passed away, my heart broke for you. I can imagine, but really don't want to, the pain you went through, and I'm sure still feel from such an epic loss. And I think your experience hit home with me not as a fan feeling sympathy for someone she admires, but more from the aspect of one only child to another.

I am the only child of parents who are still married and who live 5 minutes away. I've always been extremely close to them, and I've been lucky enough to be the child of people who let me grow up so now that I am an adult, my parents are like friends, too. Even as a very young child, the thought of losing them terrified me. I think only children don't have that "us against them" with their parents the way a family with parents and siblings do, and as such I think we tend to have a different bond with our parents.

I remember thinking when it happened that if I were to lose my parents in a similar way, it would almost be easier knowing that I only had to go through the pain once, rather than a first and second time. But something you said on Shatner really got to me, and that was that you felt there was some blessing in the fact that their dying together meant that one of them would never have to live without the other. I agreed with that, and I think I would feel the same solace.

Thank you so much for sharing such a terrible moment of your life with the world, and with other onlys who may have lost their parents, or who still have that as their worst fear.

Thank you,

Xan