Pete Wilson

Pete Wilson didn't like bumper stickers.

Not for the usual reasons, but because he couldn't get the chance to talk with the driver over whatever the issue was.
 
In a way, that encapsulated Pete. He liked people, liked to argue, liked to tell jokes. He was the definition of class: in his work and in his private life.

We shared so much together.

This is a loss so abrupt that it takes the wind out of you.
 

I miss you, Pete.

The following poem was written and read by Jim Gaughran, Executive Producer KNTV, NBC11, at Pete's memorial on July 29, 2007:

The Producer’s Lament (Wilson Falls)

Oh, my God, Pete Wilson’s here.
I’m already so behind.
I’ll never get this rundown in
If he gets inside my mind.

And you know that’s what will happen.
He’ll sit down and he’ll sigh
If I ask him what he’s thinking
I can kiss my night goodbye.
 
But I really do have work to do,
I’ve no time to debate
If Medea Benjamin
Should be imprisoned by the state.

The show is in the balance here
And I DON’T mean to get huffy
But I can’t spend 40 minutes, Pete
Defending Bevan Dufty.

Or debating immigration
Or who shot J-F-K.
And no, Pete, I do not believe
That Gavin Newsom’s gay.

Then he’ll talk like Walter Brennan
And he’ll imitate John Wayne.
Then we’ll deconstruct Red River
While the show goes down the drain.

Politics and movies
We’ll argue til I’m fried.
And if I give up and just agree
He’ll just take the other side!

And of course, he’ll never read his scripts
He just ad-lib as we go.
He’ll put us so far over
I’ll have to JIP the Leno Show.
 
No. I won’t let him seduce me.
I won’t accept defeat!
There has to be a way to block
The all-consuming Pete!

I’ll pretend to read the paper
I’ll pretend to use the phone
I’ll dial random numbers
And talk to dial tone.
 
I’ll turn my back and plug my ears
Ignore the siren calls
I won’t climb in that barrel
And go over Wilson Falls.

My only chance – abandon ship
I’ll take it on the lam.
Find a desk across the room
And let him feast on Pam.

But, wait there’s something holding me
The floor’s too steep to climb.
Pete’s gravity is so intense
He’s warping space and time!

Now his Irish eyes are smiling!
And he’s got that goofy grin!
He’s starting to sing Danny Boy!
Screw the show – I’m in!
 
At least .. that’s what I remembered
When I heard that Pete had died.
A fearsome force of nature
Not some ordinary guy.

There is some truth to that of course
He was big and strong and smart
But the truly super-HUMAN thing
Was the size of Peter’s heart.
 
He shared that heart with all of us
If we wanted it or not
His extraordinary love of life
Was the gift that Peter brought.

So, for us, where Pete once stood
There’s now a great abyss.
We stare into the void
And wonder what to make of this.

If I may .. think of him smiling
And remember him that way.
And show your friends the love
Pete Wilson showed US every day.