Goodbye to a Fantastic Pianist

I can't quite grasp the fact that Marvin Hamlisch is no longer with us.  His music will, I'm sure, live on for ever - but the man who created such wonderful music is gone.  He died yesterday after a brief illness, according to his family.  He wrote the scores of many movies, and a large number of plays - and was awarded with three Academy Awards, four Emmys, one Tony, and three Golden Globe Awards.  He was 68 years old.  It doesn't seem possible that this great fountain of music will create no more.
  In the Equestrian Olympic Games, there was a jump-off yesterday to break the tie for first place in the Team Jumping competition;  Great Britain got the gold, the Netherlands took home the silver, and Saudi Arabia took the bronze.  Canada finished fifth, and the US ended in sixth place.  The Individual Jumping rounds will take place tomorrow -  Nick Skelton on Big Star (Great Britain), Maikel van der Vleuten on Verdi, and Marc Houtzager on Tamino, both from the Netherlands, qualified without any faults; Rich Fellers and Flexible (US) and Ian Millar on Star Power (Canada) are tied in 11th place with 8 faults each.
  The Team Dressage competition has ended, with Grat Britain taking the gold, Germany the silver, and the Netherlands got the bronze.  The Grand Prix Freestyle dressage rides will decide the Individual medalists on Thursday.  Charlotte Dujardin on Valegro is currently in first place, with the Netherlands in second, and another English rider in third.  Steffen Peters on Ravel is the only USA rider to proceed to the finals - they are currently tied in 7th place with a score of 76.254.
  And, a Longmont man who crashed into nine cars after taking pain medication and smoking marijuana pleaded guilty this morning to two counts of vehicular assault causing serious bodily injury.  Sean Marino, 43, entered the plea in Boulder District Court before Judge Thomas Mulvahill. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped misdemeanor charges of DUI, reckless driving and 11 counts of careless driving.  Marino was arrested in March after police say he was driving at a "very high rate of speed" on 19th Street and collided with a car at Cedar Avenue with three people in it. Marino then hit a parked car before slamming into four other cars stopped at a red light at Iris Avenue, police said. The impact pushed one of the cars into the intersection, causing it to collide with other cars.
   Ten people were sent to the hospital as a result of the crash -- including Marino himself. Marino told police he had taken Percocet, a narcotic pain medication that contains oxycodone, for stomach pain before the accident. He also was taking anti-seizure medication and smoked marijuana before the crash, though both were prescribed, according to prosecutors. He also did not have valid insurance.  He is out on bond and will be sentenced on October 5, 2012.  I think that this man should never be allowed to drive any vehicle, even a lawn mower, for the rest of his life.