All other opinions appearing throughout the paper are those of the author or artist named with the column or cartoon. Back to the top. Here There's an old superstition that says death always comes in threes. I sincerely doubt the validity of this prophetic rule of thumb. I know people who will swear it holds true, but I think it can be explained through human nature.
Death tends to linger in our minds for a substantial amount of time.
Therefore, three deaths can seem to occur close together, even though they may be separated by a year or more. The first death was Harry Caray's, the legendary broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs. As a kid growing up in northwest Iowa, I needed some form of baseball to keep me entertained during the long summer days. So I sat glued to the television, watching the Cubs' games piped into my house all the way from Chicago. Caray's commentary and optimism kept me watching the game and cheering for the Cubs on a daily basis, even though the other team routinely destroyed the Cubs, unless that other team happened to be the Phillies.