I’m an old-fashioned guy.

That means I believe in some things that may be considered out-of-date.

Things such as traditions being important.

Family traditions are something that glues families together.

National traditions are something that give our nation its character and make us different from others.

If you’re over 50 then the chances are one of your Labor Day traditions was drop in occasionally and check out the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.

Back in another life I hosted quite a few of those telethons.

Back when we were working 24 hours straight.

It’s sad to see what it has turned in to.

At close to 90 years of age, Lewis was overdue to retire and his participation over the past 10 years was cut back because of health problems and age.

But what seemed the sad but inevitable end of an era became a moral outrage and a public relations nightmare.

It’s impossible to understand how something so successful could be so mishandled.

What really happened still has not been told but a few things have become clear in the three years since the breakup.

Jerry Lewis was dumped by the MDA, the charity he had been identified with since the 1950s.

He’s still bitter about it, as I would be.

And the telethon is withering without him.

It is no longer called a telethon, but simply an “entertainment special,” and there was no tote board, no fun and nothing worth watching.

What once was a 21-hour live TV event that many people jumped in to check throughout the night turned into a 2-hour pre-recorded series of B-list acts and pitches for money.

The 260-plus strong “Love Network” of TV stations was dumped with only ABC carrying the event.

The reason given is  telethon is supposedly “old school” and no one wants to sit through them any more.
Social media is where it’s at.

The proof is in the money raised – and for the second year donations are down, a lot.

In fact they are down almost 11-percent since Lewis was forced out.

So much for that theory.

There’s a reason for traditions.
These are things we do together and they tie us as one.

Say what you want about Jerry Lewis, and he has his haters, he raised a lot of money for MDA.
And he started a tradition.

It exists no longer and we are poorer for it.
There’s nothing wrong in being old-fashioned about some things.