I got off the board here at the station around 5:45, halfway through All Things Considered, and went to have dinner with a friend. When I got home there were two messages on my machine, but I didn't check them till midnight--and one of them was news from a colleague that Shaw had died. NPR had announced it about 15 minutes after I left. I was up for hours after that, really upset--more than I probably should be, considering that he lived to be 94 and obviously got a lot out of his life. Maybe it's that his version of "Dancing in the Dark" has practically become a theme song for me this year in the wake of my mother's death, and also that I have an almost irrational passion for his music (I was really excited on Christmas Day because my wife gave me the new Shaw Hep, which contains his late-40s classical recordings). He also figures in an artistic project of mine, so I've spent a lot of time listening to his music, reading about him, etc. Truly the last giant from the swing era... his departure shuts a final door.