THANK YOU, DAVID LETTERMAN (2ND VERSION)

It is officially May 20, 2015. Today is the day that David Letterman retires from late-night. And since I felt like I needed to give out one more tribute to Dave, I decided to modify my previous fan art of the King of Late Night.

Whenever I think about Dave leaving, I can't help but feel sad. Dave has been an influential figure during my teenage years, with his brand of deadpan and self-deprecating comedy. There were some things he said that I didn't agree with, and he did have his share of scandals through the years. But nevertheless, he played a key role in shaping up who I am today.

There was a time in my life where I wanted to host a late-night talk show like Dave. Over time, though, I realized that I'm not exactly skilled in doing stand-up comedy and the late-night gig may not be the path for me.

But for several times in my life, his influence really showed. My high school graduation speech, for instance, had a touch of Letterman in it, especially with the way I bit my tongue in a comedic manner. When I deliver jokes on several occasions, I often accompany it with deadpan humor, and I always loved how people react to this type of humor. When I teach classes, I also tend to add some Letterman-like humor in my lectures, though not too much in order to let the students still feel comfortable.

Now that I think about it, I sometimes felt like the teacher's desk that I sit at during my classes would sometimes turn into the late-night desk that I've once dreamed about, and that class time would be somewhat patterned with the Late Show.

Out of the many essay tributes devoted to Letterman, Raam Wong's David Letterman, my hero struck me the most because of how much I can relate to it. One quote from that article which was very much true for me was this:

"But more than anything, what Dave really gave me will never leave me. Because it's me — it's who I am."

At this point, I wish Dave happiness and peace with his family after he retires from the late-night desk. #ThanksDave

Credits:
Background: Evening by The Wandering Angel (License: Creative Commons BY 2.0)