Jay Leno's last "Tonight Show"

It's unreal to think 17 years went by so fast! Was tonight really Jay Leno's last "Tonight Show?" Wow! I know it was, of course; it just seems so strange that it's been 17 years since he took over.

I am the biggest Johnny Carson fan in the world; I literally grew up watching Johnny, who began hosting "The Tonight Show" when I was a year old. I remember when Johnny did the show from New York, and I remember he used to come to Los Angeles for two weeks every May to do the show, and I remember in 1972 when he moved the show permanently from New York to Los Angeles because it was easier to get guests in L.A. than in New York (or so he said, although today David Letterman seems to have no problem getting guests, and he's based in New York.) I remember when he cut back from five nights a week to four, and then to three, and I remember when the "Tonight Show" was 90 minutes long, and the last 15 minutes were usually reserved for interviewing some author whose book had just come out. I miss Carnack, Aunt Blabby, the "Stump the Band" segment, and Art Fern with Carol Wayne and the "Teatime Movie". (I remember how much I laughed the first time I visited Southern California and found out that there really is a Slauson cutoff! "Stop, get out, cut off your slauson!" And remember "the fork in the road!")

When I was in grade school, I used to beg my parents to just let me stay up long enough to see Johnny's monologue (the "Tonight Show" airs at 10:30 in Phoenix). And they did! (Thank you, Mom and Daddy!) Fridays and summer vacations were extra special simply because I got to see ALL of the show and not just the monologue!

So I vividly remember Johnny's last show, and then the following Monday, after the local news at 10:00, when 10:30 came, I just kept thinking there was no way we wouldn't hear the familiar "bah bah bah BAH bah" theme and see Johnny come out from behind those multi-colored curtains, same as always. And instead we got this "hipper" sounding theme, and there was Jay Leno with a garish new set, and I watched about 10 minutes and had to turn it off. I had NOTHING against Jay Leno himself; I just couldn't stand seeing the new version of "The Tonight Show" and I missed Johnny desperately!

And it's only been in the past couple years I've been able to watch Leno's version at all. I do enjoy the "Headlines" segment he does on Mondays, and every once in awhile he'll have a guest on I want to watch (Robin Williams, Steve Martin, a few like that). I can't stand "Jaywalking" because I, for one, don't think it's funny that we have that many stupid young adults in the world who apparently slept their way through at least 12 years of school. It makes me cringe.

And now, suddenly, just like that, whoosh! 17 years is gone, and Jay's stint is done. It honestly feels to me like he's only been hosting about five years, like Johnny just retired a few years ago. (My brain just does NOT process the passage of time well at all!) It's not even remotely possible to me that Johnny Carson could be GONE.

Maybe this seems less real because unlike Johnny, Leno will be back this fall with what they're saying will be a very similar show, "The Tonight Show" with a different name and an earlier time slot, but otherwise very much the same show.

Will I like Conan O'Brien as the new host? Heck, if I still miss Johnny Carson, I don't think I could ever fully embrace anyone else as the host. But it will be interesting to see how Conan does. (They're doing the show at Universal and not the Burbank Studios where it's been done since Carson moved to L.A. in 1972? That's unreal too!)