The loss of innocence, and cynicism

If the battle for America's soul is a never-ending grudge match between innocence and cynicism, the arena just lost two of its purest archetypes.

Who could have predicted that Davy Jones and Andrew Breitbart would ever meet at all? But here they were, in near-perfect symmetry at 66 and 43, departing unexpectedly as if from two different worlds.

For people now solidly in middle age, women especially, The Monkees' lovable scamp was the pint-size embodiment of America's last innocent age. Exuberant, safe and cute as all get-out, Jones smiled down from a million bedroom posters and blared from tinny turntables everywhere, promoting the positive power of daydreams, friendship and love. He was a believer -- and shouldn't you be, too?

If Davy Jones was the 20th century's ultimate innocent, Andrew Breitbart was walking proof of where that had led as the 21st took hold.

A talented crusader for passionate causes, no one could doubt Breitbart's brutal effectiveness or his tireless commitment to the fight. But his was a zero-sum game. For his side to win, the other had to not just lose -- but to be attacked and embarrassed. Those who disagreed didn't have differing opinions. They were enemies who, through the tools of modern technology, needed to be destroyed.

More a polemicist than a journalist but effective at both, he had the instincts of an assassin and the glee of unexpected star.

Innocence and cynicism, both cut short.

SEE PHOTOSRecent notable deaths

MONKEE, AROUND

• 1. "Nightmare Believer"

ASKED AND UNANSWERED: How 'bout this project for one of next year's Intel kids? Eradicating the golden nematode, the microscopic worm that's such a stubborn pest for Long Island potato farmers . . . What did disappointed developer Bill Taubman say to Neiman Marcus president Karen Katz after hearing the Dallas retailer was abandoning Taubman's stalled Mall at Oyster Bay for the expanding Roosevelt Field? Bet it wasn't, "Oh, that's cool, Karen." . . . How come only four people showed up to speak at the Thursday bus-service hearing in Riverhead? Did the others try to get there by bus? . . . Can we agree that, generally speaking, it's a bad idea to rob the same bank twice in the same month? Christopher Legge, 39, of Lindenhurst, allegedly hit West Babylon's Roslyn Savings Bank on Feb. 11 and 24 . . . Are you surprised the are-they-really-Kosher case keeps coming back to court? Now Morrell's has filed a $10 million defamation suit against Rabbi Raphael Adler, whose Woodbury Jewish Center is trying to evict the popular caterer over a "loss of trust in Mr. Morrell's integrity."

THE NEWS IN SONG: Early Davy, tinyurl.com/earlydavy. Late Davy, tinyurl.com/latedavyEmail ellis@henican.com

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LONG ISLANDER OF THE WEEK: MIKE HENLEY

It's easy to share the sweet things in life. What takes bravery is sharing the tough ones. Mike Henley and his family shared one of the toughest of all. A graduate of Chaminade and St. John's with an amazing wife, Karen, and two phenomenal kids, Courtney and Brandon, he was living the dream that he'd expected -- and had every right to. His brain had other ideas. For the past 11 years, Mike battled Alzheimer's disease. Three years ago, in the throes of that challenging journey, he and his family opened their lives to the outside world. Reread Newsday's 2009 series, "Alzheimer's: The Love and the Heartbreak" tinyurl.com/heromike. You'll be reminded what true heroism is. In spite -- or maybe because--of their struggles, these are lives well led.