Cavuto: Enjoy the good times as if they are an appetizer

For regular viewers of this show, you know I like to quote my late, great parents a lot.

There was a wisdom to my Irish mom and Italian dad that keeps comforting me and these days "grounding" me.

Remember, it was my dad who famously reminded me as a kid, "Neil, stay humble. In your case, it will come in handy."

My mom was much the same when it came to success: "Enjoy it, Neil, but don't expect it. And certainly don't act like it."

Enter Steve Bannon. Stay with me, I have a point here.

There was a time, actually little more than a few weeks ago, that he was the political "it" guy. The proverbial bull in the China shop, shaking up the Republican establishment and seeking out renegade candidates to take on that establishment.

Then his candidate lost in Alabama.

Then his damning comments on Donald Trump in this Michael Wolff book.

Now, conservatives are turning on him.

The president has had it with him.

And pretty soon, I suspect, we'll be hearing less and less of him.

And to think, not even a year ago, he was the brains behind that dark, but unforgettable Trump inaugural address.

Back then it seemed like he was the center of the universe.

Now, a very different universe.

Just like it's a different universe for Matt Lauer...and Charlie Rose...and Kevin Spacey...and Harvey Weinstein...and Bill O'Reilly.

Fairly or not, centers of their respective universes no more.

I guess what boggles my mind is how quickly this happens now or seems to. How many "it" players take that turnstile to anonymity now. It's a crowded turnstile: a "who's who" to "who's that again" that reminds us all fame isn't the only fleeting thing. We are.

A top fidelity investments trader whose incredible performance results made him impervious to rebuke, until they didn't.

A cutting-edge comedian whose crossover Hollywood appeal made him an un-stoppable force, until he wasn't.

A soaring New Orleans celebrity chef who was re-defining the company he founded until his company forced him out.

Food for thought. Enjoy the good times as if an appetizer.

Because pretty soon, they take the plates away, and they're on to the next course.

I guess my mom would say consider yourself lucky if you're still at the table for it.

Yet we keep forgetting it.

Whether it's a heavily favored presidential candidate who looked guaranteed to be the first female president of the United States.

Until she wasn't.

Or her media-derided opponent who wasn't going anywhere, until suddenly he was.

Life is full of surprises. Yet we keep getting surprised. Just like those on top of the heap keep getting reminded it's only a heap.

Humbling for them. Instructive for us.

That's why my dad would say, "Work hard, Neil. It will make up for the fact that brain of yours is only going to get you so far on its own," he'd add.

We'd laugh at that.

Great wisdom in that.

Enjoy the good times. Just don't assume you always have them coming.