In 1996, David Letterman left the comforts of the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York City and went on the road, hosting The Late Show from four cities in four weeks. Stops included Washington, D.C. on November 8, 1996 and Chicago on November 15th. His Washington, D.C. show took place just three days after the exciting conclusion of the 1996 presidential race between President Bill Clinton and Senator Bob Dole and happened to be taping next door to my office. (Kids, those are links to the actual 1996 presidential campaign website. You MUST take a look, when you’re done reading this entire post, but not before.)

Naturally, my friends and I camped out overnight to get tickets for this TV legend. We succeeded and had one heck of a fun night camped out, although speaking for myself, I was dragging ass all day at work after scoring the hottest ticket in town.

Guests on the show included Senator Bob Dole (R-Kansas), Ted Koppel (host, ABC’s Nightline) and his dog Damien, and legendary musician and singer Mary Chapin Carpenter.

David Letterman ends his run as host of The Late Show tonight after 11 years on NBC and 22 years on CBS. I’ll admit that I was skeptical that the show would last when he left NBC, but I’m thrilled to admit being mistaken in this case (not wrong, just mistaken).

In honor of David Letterman, I say goodbye the only way I know how . . . with a Top 10 List.

From the home office in Lake Bluff, Illinois, I bring you the Top 10 reasons why being in the audience for The Late Show with David Letterman rocked.

10. Discovering that what I’d thought was the Warner Theatre was actually the Warren Theater. (Dave messed up the name in his monologue and it became the running joke of that night’s show.)

9. Sitting out all night on the cold, hard Washington, D.C. sidewalk in the rain with my besties. (If you don’t do this in your 20s, when you’re single, carefree, and can actually move after sitting on concrete for 12+ hours, when are you going to do it?)

8. Not having to take the Delta shuttle to LaGuardia and dealing with all those crazy New York tourists.

7. Biff Henderson and Paul Shaffer.

6. My office was next door to the Warner Theater, so we took pee breaks in actual bathrooms, not in a D.C. alley. We also had access to vending machines and breakfast from the Hogan office dining room. And none of those other suckers in line did.

5. My kick-ass boss who didn’t care that I came into work late because tickets weren’t given out until 10:00 a.m. AND I left early because the show was taped before the workday ended.

4. Meeting Larry Bud Melman and having him sign a book of Top 10 Lists I bought on my lunch hour as a Christmas gift for my brother.  (Yep, that’s right. I came in late, left early, AND took my full lunch hour that day.)

3. Discovering Bob Dole was funny and being damn glad his great personality hadn’t made an appearance in the presidential campaign. I shudder to think about Viagra and Pepsi commercials being shot in the Oval Office. What a scandal THAT would have been in the late 1990s.

2. That night’s Top 10 List “Questions I’ve always wanted to ask the President” delivered by Jane Robelot (co-anchor, CBS’s This Morning), Wolf Blitzer (CNN senior White House correspondent), Fred Barnes (The McLaughlin Group), Greta Van Susteren (co-host, CNN’s Burden of Proof), Michael Kinsley (editor, Slate online magazine), Frank Sesno (CNN vice president, Washington bureau), Cokie Roberts (ABC News Special Correspondent), Sam Donaldson (co-anchor, ABC News’ Primetime Live), Helen Thomas (UPI White House bureau chief), and John McLaughlin (host, The McLaughlin Group).

And the #1 reason why being in the audience for The Late Show with David Letterman rocked . . .

1. Little did I know that just 19 years later, I’d be a wealthy, world-famous blogger* and write this exclusive** tribute to Dave.

* In my own mind.

** Exclusive to Little Merry Sunshine, but probably not the only tribute to David Letterman.

Read how other ChicagoNow bloggers are saying goodbye to David Letterman:

• Stars love Letterman too on Newsboy
• Top 10 reasons David Letterman will be missed on The Chicago Board of Tirade
• Top 10 list: David Letterman and his music on I’ve Got the Hippy Shakes
• It’s too late when it’s gone on Dry it in the Water
• I’m watching David Letterman again: after our breakup on Ms. Crankypants and the City

Do you enjoy reading Little Merry Sunshine? Of course you do.

All the cool kids sign up for the email to alert them of new posts and follow LMS on social media: 

Follow @Jessica_Gardner//

https://widget.bloglovin.com/widget/scripts/bl.js  

Enter your email address in the box below and clicking the “create subscription” button. This is a two-step process, so look for the confirmation email and click on the link. My list is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.