Things I Learned In 2009
#1. Everything dies. Everything.
Three men I watched when I was growing up passed away this year. Patrick Swazye, who I admired for doing Roadhouse; Ed McMahon was Johnny Carson's co-host, I used to stay up late and watch him be Johnny's straight man to his act; and Michael Jackson, who I loved, period. I honestly wanted to be Mike. Dance like him, sing like him.
Farrah Fawcett was an angel. Charlie's Angel at that. I remember my older cousin had her infamous poster and I used to look at it all the time.
Natasha Richardson was a very good actress. I loved her in The Parent Trap and Maid In Manhattan.
Bea Arthur, who was on Golden Girls, she's gone too.
DJ AM and DJ Roc Raida passed too. Two great DJs, both gone.
David Carradine, who was in one of my favorite movies Kill Bill, and also start of Kung Fu, died.
Dom DeLuise, a funny, funny man. Dead.
John Hughes shaped my childhood completely. His movies, whether written or directed, were the stuff of the 80's. I still quote at least one of his movies daily.
Les Paul made the guitar of legends.
Ricardo Montalban. Steve McNair. Ron Silver. Ted Kennedy. Vernon Forrest. Arturo Gotti.
This is just the celeberties. Let's not talk about Oscar Grant. Or Derrion Albert. Or Bernard Monroe. Or Jamaal Valentine.
Personally, I lost friends, I lost family, I lost a lot. I just found out my older cousin died 20 minutes ago. A childhood friend died earlier this year. I had a... I don't even know what it was. It was something special, I know that; no matter how short it lasted. And that's dead.
But while I learned that eventually everything dies, I also learned that I have the strength to carry on, to move forward. And that's the important thing; we carry the memories of what has came before us and died out. So, I need to change this first lesson, because that wasn't the lesson I learned.
#1.
4 comments:
another day, another profound post. i swear i need to MAKE SURE i read your shit daily, and maybe i wouldn't let my head get so fucked up and do dumb shit all the time.
...and one day will be our day. That's why it's important to LIVE, LIVE, LIVE. Thanks for this post - life is precious.
Very good post...
yes, we all have the strength to get past it... but I think that is a n important lesson to accept that "everything dies"... accepting that fact makes each death a lesson to us instead of a void. Everything dies can also apply to seasons in our lives, know that unhappiness, pain, depression, etc. will die as well...
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