Just a few thoughts
Just a few things that have been swimming through my head lately, and I thought I'd just share them with those that care to read. Nothing pithy or the like, probably more akin to me just dumping what's on my mind.
The first one is the death of Michael Jackson and the fact that it's turned into a criminal investigation, which assuming it goes anywhere will mean that someone will be up for manslaughter at least and 2nd degree murder at worst. I'm not going to comment on his impact, his influence on my growing up, and all that - everyone's said it in one way or another and to some degree or other it applies to me as well. But what I am going to talk about is the Dr. Feelgood life that seems to have destroyed him, one way or another...as it has destroyed many a celeb, and even some of the collateral around them (Dean Martin's son, Farrah Fawcett's son, etc.) The latter, I fall into. Well, not me personally, but my father. He was one of those types, a doctor to the stars, and though I never saw it, he was one of those rare birds - the kind of doctor that actually cares and does good for their high-powered patients. But that also means that paling around with the likes of celebrities and hobnobbing with the hoi polloi (sorry, not name dropping) had a cost. The obvious one was the relationship he had with his kids, namely me and my sister (and to a lesser degree his adoptive children - I can't really call them my siblings, because I've met them just once and have no real connection to them). But the other part was the substance abuse, the cheating, the lying, the adultery, everything about moving in those circles that took a person that had a personality not suited to handle celebrity and shoving him front and center.
Not all of us are meant to deal with it. My cousin, who is a rapper (again, not name dropping, sorry) handles it pretty well. My aunt, also a doctor and has treated celebrities, has her family to ground her. Some of my friends, especially my voice actor and webcomic artist friends, handle it with a practiced ease (especially the ones who have a better grounding for some reason or another). But my father was more like Icarus and moved closer to the sun, and that's part of what did him in. I hated him for years and didn't speak to him for the last 10 years of his life (the last time I ever saw him was just after bootcamp, and then never again until his funeral - and I didn't even go to that for his sake, but rather for my grandmother's), but close to a decade has passed and Ive had some time to think about it. I forgive, but I haven't really forgotten. And that's what makes it so sad to hear about the Jackson case, in all its warts and sorrow. There's people there who used him, and not all of those people were in his business circles. I think those same people are now looking at his kids - especially Paris - and seeing if they can strike gold, wring blood from the stone and if it costs the someone their sanity or life, that's just how it goes.
If my endeavors ever get me and my wife that far, I will remember, and hope that memory grounds me to the earth when all is thrusting towards the ebon.
On a better note, I spent Friday afternoon listening to the KMET special on internet radio. It was interesting sharing the moments of my youth with my wife, and I think she saw sides of me that she never did before. It was also interesting talking about it with my mom the next day (she, a bigger KMET fan than I since her twenties were spent during the station's salad days - MISSED the event and I got to rail her about that). It was a nostalgic moment that I hope to live again (I'm hoping they'll do it again, if not outright turn that station into a new KMET), and I'm wondering if my wlfe will get a chance to share something like this with me from her perspective (not likely, seeing as how stations here change on a dime).
But it's something that I'll always remember...and my KMET commemorative T-shirt's in the mail. ^_^
The first one is the death of Michael Jackson and the fact that it's turned into a criminal investigation, which assuming it goes anywhere will mean that someone will be up for manslaughter at least and 2nd degree murder at worst. I'm not going to comment on his impact, his influence on my growing up, and all that - everyone's said it in one way or another and to some degree or other it applies to me as well. But what I am going to talk about is the Dr. Feelgood life that seems to have destroyed him, one way or another...as it has destroyed many a celeb, and even some of the collateral around them (Dean Martin's son, Farrah Fawcett's son, etc.) The latter, I fall into. Well, not me personally, but my father. He was one of those types, a doctor to the stars, and though I never saw it, he was one of those rare birds - the kind of doctor that actually cares and does good for their high-powered patients. But that also means that paling around with the likes of celebrities and hobnobbing with the hoi polloi (sorry, not name dropping) had a cost. The obvious one was the relationship he had with his kids, namely me and my sister (and to a lesser degree his adoptive children - I can't really call them my siblings, because I've met them just once and have no real connection to them). But the other part was the substance abuse, the cheating, the lying, the adultery, everything about moving in those circles that took a person that had a personality not suited to handle celebrity and shoving him front and center.
Not all of us are meant to deal with it. My cousin, who is a rapper (again, not name dropping, sorry) handles it pretty well. My aunt, also a doctor and has treated celebrities, has her family to ground her. Some of my friends, especially my voice actor and webcomic artist friends, handle it with a practiced ease (especially the ones who have a better grounding for some reason or another). But my father was more like Icarus and moved closer to the sun, and that's part of what did him in. I hated him for years and didn't speak to him for the last 10 years of his life (the last time I ever saw him was just after bootcamp, and then never again until his funeral - and I didn't even go to that for his sake, but rather for my grandmother's), but close to a decade has passed and Ive had some time to think about it. I forgive, but I haven't really forgotten. And that's what makes it so sad to hear about the Jackson case, in all its warts and sorrow. There's people there who used him, and not all of those people were in his business circles. I think those same people are now looking at his kids - especially Paris - and seeing if they can strike gold, wring blood from the stone and if it costs the someone their sanity or life, that's just how it goes.
If my endeavors ever get me and my wife that far, I will remember, and hope that memory grounds me to the earth when all is thrusting towards the ebon.
On a better note, I spent Friday afternoon listening to the KMET special on internet radio. It was interesting sharing the moments of my youth with my wife, and I think she saw sides of me that she never did before. It was also interesting talking about it with my mom the next day (she, a bigger KMET fan than I since her twenties were spent during the station's salad days - MISSED the event and I got to rail her about that). It was a nostalgic moment that I hope to live again (I'm hoping they'll do it again, if not outright turn that station into a new KMET), and I'm wondering if my wlfe will get a chance to share something like this with me from her perspective (not likely, seeing as how stations here change on a dime).
But it's something that I'll always remember...and my KMET commemorative T-shirt's in the mail. ^_^