Faces of Death
The documentary came out thirty years ago, and so far this year, I've seen lots of the many faces of death. I mean...everything seems to be dying this year. Heath Ledger, Bo Diddley, George Carlin, Brad Renfro, Tony Snow, Tim Russert, The Maharishi that spent time with the Beatles, a friend of my family's, Charlton Heston, a Russian dissident author that spoke out against the Soviet Union, Bobby Fisher, Isaac Hayes, Bernie Mac, and maybe Paul Newman and Patrick Swayze may join them. Recently I found out that a classmate of mine from two classes in high school had died months earlier. The guy was a revolutionary and knew that one day he was going to make an impact upon the world. Then I read that he died and that when they found him, he had a syringe in his hand. Then I found out a bit more about him. Now I'm not saying that he was a junkie but I will say this: some of the greatest people that ever lived---Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Layne Staley, John Belushi, Chris Farley---end up dying in the stupidest ways possible. Many of these people are looked upon as sages and wise people, but they're not wise enough as far as the way that they died is concerned. I don't know who's next to die...will it be Mela? Ariel Sharon? Ted Kennedy? Me?