When I was a kid, I got to meet Jim Varney at a grocery store in my home town near Nashville. He was visiting local stores dressed as Earnest for Purity Dairies. He smelled like a smoker, but he was such a friendly guy. He was in full Earnest mode, and I was thrilled. I have to visit my parents and see where his autograph is hiding.

I miss him, right up there with Jim Henson and Douglas Adams.