R.I.P. John Hughes

Today I sent my husband an email which basically said that because my son had his two best friends over with no adult supervision, I was expecting to come home from work to a replica of Jake Ryan's party house from "Sixteen Candles." Not two seconds later, I logged onto MSN and saw the news: John Hughes had passed away suddenly at the age of 59. Total bummer.

In his honor, I'd like to thank him for the following:

• Thank you Mr. Hughes for permanently recording a celluloid history of the entire 1980's. I can watch any number of your teenage angst flicks and immediately be thrown back into the fashions, trends, and vernacular of the 80's (Shoulder pads, Polo Oxfords, denim miniskirts, and the phrase "What's a Happenin' Hot Stuff?" come to mind).

• Thank you for introducing us to a young, gap-toothed sarcastic Robert Downey Jr. (Weird Science).

• Thank you for always making the Principal a major Putz.

• Thank you for inspiring me to skip a day of school (which I did shortly after I saw "Ferris Beuller's Day Off"). Needless to say, instead of lip singing at a parade, I ended up alone, driving around aimlessly in my 1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, eventually settling in at the local library perusing People Magazine.

• Thank you for making it cool to have the wild parties at my house whenever my parents were out of town (Sixteen Candles). Of course I paid the price dearly whenever my mom came home and one of her Hopi Indian Kachina dolls had a missing limb or the vodka bottle was refilled with water (just kidding my parents never noticed shit like that).

• Thanks for Home Alone I and 2, which my children have seen no less than 15 times each.

• Thank you for making a movie from the title of a Psychedelic Furs song (Pretty in Pink) and giving us a character named "Blaine" and "Ducky" and always casting James Spader as the rich asshole.

• Thanks for making it (some)what cool to be the "Geek" (Weird Science, Sixteen Candles et al.)