Eulogy for a Ghostbuster

Harold Ramis was an actor, director, writer, and of course a fellow human being, but some people may wonder why I would chose to memorialize a man I never met. After all he was just another Hollywood guy, right? Why should I be so touched by the lose of another actor? I didn't even bat an eyelash when Philip Seymour Hoffman died. I never spent an entire blog post going on about Nelson Mandela, not that he didn't deserve it, but Ramis was something special in my life. He wrote such classics as Caddyshack, Stripes, National Lampoon's Vacation, and the true masterpiece: Groundhog's Day, but what he will always be remembered for (in my mind) is his work on Ghostbusters, both as a writer and actor. That movie influenced me, which is a realization that I don't think I even thought about until I read the news of his death.

Ghostbusters was a hallmark in my mind, and it went beyond the Saturday morning cartoon, the Ecto Cooler, the action figures (I still have the ghostbusters' firehouse stored in my parent's attic,) to something deeper. Ghostbusters is the first movie I ever saw in a movie theater, (admittedly it was probably Ghostbusters II, because I wasn't even one year old by the time the first movie came out,) but going to that theater with my parents remains one of my earliest memories as a child. It was literally, the earliest nerdy thing I ever did. It was also pretty cool that the first movie my parents brought their young child to see was rated PG, (but for the record I was very well behaved and I promise I was not one of those children.) The sexual innuendo went over my head at the time, but that was fine. It gave me something to enjoy later, as an adult... I'm digressing.

To my child's mind the movie was perfection. It was funny, filled with action, and even a bit scary, but it was the good kind of the scary. It was the kind of scary where you knew everything would be okay, because as bad as the ghosts were, there were people who existed to combat them and keep you safe. That's a good feeling to have as a little kid. When I was scared at night in my room I used to look at my plastic proton pack, and it helped made me feel braver. If there were evil things that existed out there then I was sure that there were also good people who existed to fight them, (and not that I fully realized or articulated this at the time, but) it was a fact made even better because the Ghostbusters weren't highly trained experts, they were blue-collared guys, like me, and like my parents.

Memorial outside of Hook & Ladder 8 in Lower Manhattan,
the firehouse used as the Ghostbusters' headquarters. The
fire station also hung a Ghostbusters sign  on the exterior,
in honor of the passing of Harold Ramis.

I think that comes down the the crux of my love of Ghostbusters. That movie holds a special place in my heart, not just because it was fun and funny, but because it was a moment of bonding for me and my parents. The Ghostbusters represented the everyman who could stop all those terrifying things that go bump in the night. They weren't perfect, but that didn't matter. They were heroes who kept me safe, like my parents. My mom and dad aren't superheroes like Batman, ninjas like the Mutant Turtles, or even highly trained soldiers like the members of GI Joe, (all were heroes of my childhood.) They were just regular people who did the best they could given their circumstances, and when they told me everything was going to be okay, or that there were no monsters in my closet, I believed them. The world seemed better because they were there to protect me, and knowing that made me feel braver. Harold Ramis gave me that precious memory, that long lost day of parental bonding. Maybe that is why, when I read the news of his death, I was struck by it.

Yes it is true, that he and I never formally made the acquaintance of one another, but I am still grieved by his passing, (69 was too young, though comedically appropriate.) And, I don't think my situation is unique, as evidenced by the out pouring on Facebook. So that is why I choose to eulogize this legend of comedy. He may not have done the type of things that Nelson Mandela did, but you don't always need to be a freedom fighter to touch people's lives. Harold Ramis touched my life. Egon Spengler was a part of my childhood, a part of my relationship with my parents, a part of how I defined myself, (the heroic nerd,) and for that I will never be able to find the words to say thank you.