I watched yesterday as the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon broke all records again this year, and grossed over 65 million dollars. Lewis also appealed to people to send help to Gustav victims via the Salvation Army. I know it is not cool to like Jerry Lewis, let alone to respect him. I know he is considered unsophisticated, buffoonish and primitive. I know that taking cheap shots at him is almost a sport.

Yet, the blogosphere is alive with praise today. Sharon Cobb
says :

Something about him breaking his financial record this year makes me feel better about humanity. I know we're all tired and have our own crap to deal with, yet in the midst of the madness, including immediate danger again to the Gulf Coast, people remembered to give to people with Muscular Dystrophy for the 43rd year in a row.

We've seen Jerry through ill health and good, steroid addiction, arrogant moments, broken partnerships and broken marriages -- clownish moments and more.

This weekend, in his early 80's, he was doing something to benefit "his kids", as he has every year since the early 1950's.

The story has it that Lewis in his early days as a comedian, used to have a "spastic kid" as one of his characters. Then a set of parents wrote to him, and explained that their son had a disease that caused him to look "spastic", and that it was hurtful for Jerry to make fun of boys like that. That story results in his awakening to the need for more sensitivity and help, and the shock that as a comedian he was actually hurting child. Jerry Lewis, when asked to publicly explain why he is so involved with MDA says that the reason is not important.

And, MDA recieves every penny that is donated during the telethon. Jerry's work with MDA is also 100% volunteer.

I admire what he does for these MDA charities.

Yet, in fairness, there are those among the disabled community who take issue with what they feel is Jerry's encouraging pity for people with MDA. says

Many disabled people have protested this fundraising method because of its pitiful poster children images. These images are designed to make you feel sorry for disabled people and/or fear disability. As many often point out, it makes it really difficult to go to a job interview if an organization representing people like you has told your boss you needed pity, not equal opportunity or justice. These images of pity and charity infiltrate every part of our life.

Then, Princess Ladybug who works for MDA in Houston, blogs her impressions, which are very positive.

Gab wonders what will happen when Jerry dies.

So as I sat yesterday watching the Jerry Lewis MDA telethon, I thought to my self wow he's been doing these telethons for a long time and he's getting old. I wonder who if any one will take over the telethon for him when he passes. Or will Jerry's kids be forgotten.

In so many ways, Lewis is almost an anti-hero. He was just arrested for carrying gun he "forgot" he had in an airport -- it had been a gift to him by a gun-maker. He was accused of, and apologized for a homophobic slur last year on national television.

What do we do in a world where our heroes are anti-heroes too? Whenwe find that someone we look up to has feet of clay. We expect those who are bigger than life to be better than the norm, more aware, more clean in many ways. Is that fair or unfair?

Yet there he stands, a man who has done what he knows best to raise literally billions of dollars over his lifetime to benefit MDA. He may not be sophisticated, or urbane. He screws up. He is an old time glad-hander. He is from another era, another generation --- almost another world. He does powerful good in the world. And though he may make me crazy sometimes, I would like to have him over for coffee someday. Just to talk.