This was written by Editor Richard Ayoub:

As long as I remembered Labor Day meant the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon.

When I was a kid, I tried to stay up all 21 hours with Jerry, but I  never could.

As I got older, I’d go to barbecues, pool parties and weekend getaways, but always remembered that this was the weekend that Jerry did his thing. It was always reassuring knowing that no matter what time I would get home and turn on the TV — I’d see Jerry.

I remember that Jerry even showed up in 2003, even when his face was bloated and he had gained 50 pounds because of steroid injections for a lung disorder.

On Sunday, there was no Jerry. And it just wasn’t the same.

There were no crazy faces, goofy laughs, toothless smiles or slapstick humor and there was no “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”

Yes, the show was successful  — even though it was cut back to six hours (raising $61 million) — but it lost it’s heart and passion.

We all knew that Jerry would have to retire at sometime — for heaven’s sakes he’s 85 — but why couldn’t we let him retire on his own terms. Why couldn’t this year be his last year? Why didn’t we let Jerry say goodbye?

I want to know that Jerry’s Okay with it all. I want to know that the guy who started the telethon 45 years ago, who was the chairman of the board, was fine with the departure.

I wanted to see him honored. I wanted to see him thanked for changing so many lives and I wanted to see a whole sea of singers sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” to him.

I wanted to cry with him one last time.

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