Prince
So Prince died today. Slowly but surely a piece of my childhood and youth are dying. First mom, then a long list of actors and singers that meant so much to me growing up. Mom went to see Purple Rain when it came out and she brought home the little purple record of the song, Purple Rain. It was a beautiful lavender vinyl album, so original, so ahead of it's time and different than anything else out there back then.
Right after I graduated high school, or during high school (I forget exactly when, because, well, old age) I remember listening to 7 over and over again as I drove to and from work and school and hanging out with my friends. "All 7 and we'll watch them fall..." It was such an awesome song. Driving around, listening to Prince, with the windows down, blasting music. Life was so good and liberating then.
And on New Years 1999 I remember being at Alan Golds listening to that sound as we danced and counted down to the year 2000. Me and John kissed at midnight, thinking we would be together forever. Love and life seemed so easy that night in 1999/2000. Everything was fresh and new and hopeful and then as time went on life warped and changed so much more than any life ever should.
And now Prince is gone. Forever, such is the way of death. Another death, another reminder that life is finite and no matter how amazing and life-altering the trajectory of our lives, in the end we all die. It makes me wonder though....in hindsight one can plot backwards the trajectory that leads to the death of someone. In doing so you can find a thousand different small, little things that, if done differently, could have led to life instead of death. Maybe I should have pushed mom more to go to the doctor, maybe I should have taken her to the doctor, maybe if I was not so wrapped up in my life I could have done the right things and saved her. I should have caught her illnesses sooner and pushed harder to have her treated and healed and saved.
Oh how easy it is to look backward, and how futile, and how maddening. It is a game with no winners, endless moves, endless what-ifs, but no real winners. But..how can you look at your own life and find the things that need changing? Is it possible to catch those small, little things and instead of choosing actions that lead to death, instead choose the things that lead to life? How can you even recognize such things in the moment? Is it even possible? Or are we blinded by all the forest so that we can not see the trees right in front of us?
Prince is dead. He was a Jehovah's Witness. I am not judging. I really am not. I do know that religion shuns medical intervention in some cases, though the specifics of which I am clueless about. I know they won't ever accept blood transfusions, but beyond that...I am not sure. I wonder if his adherence to his religious beliefs caused him to not get medical treatment for his flu? Or was he not really sick with the flu and that is what his people decided to go with, to cover up something else. There are reports that he overdosed on opiates this past Friday and that is what caused his airplane to divert to an emergency landing. Of course, it will be weeks before any sort of pathology results come in, so it truly is stupid to speculate, so, ugh, shame on me.
I just wonder what it is I can learn from yet another death. Surely there is a lesson somewhere, right?
Right after I graduated high school, or during high school (I forget exactly when, because, well, old age) I remember listening to 7 over and over again as I drove to and from work and school and hanging out with my friends. "All 7 and we'll watch them fall..." It was such an awesome song. Driving around, listening to Prince, with the windows down, blasting music. Life was so good and liberating then.
And on New Years 1999 I remember being at Alan Golds listening to that sound as we danced and counted down to the year 2000. Me and John kissed at midnight, thinking we would be together forever. Love and life seemed so easy that night in 1999/2000. Everything was fresh and new and hopeful and then as time went on life warped and changed so much more than any life ever should.
And now Prince is gone. Forever, such is the way of death. Another death, another reminder that life is finite and no matter how amazing and life-altering the trajectory of our lives, in the end we all die. It makes me wonder though....in hindsight one can plot backwards the trajectory that leads to the death of someone. In doing so you can find a thousand different small, little things that, if done differently, could have led to life instead of death. Maybe I should have pushed mom more to go to the doctor, maybe I should have taken her to the doctor, maybe if I was not so wrapped up in my life I could have done the right things and saved her. I should have caught her illnesses sooner and pushed harder to have her treated and healed and saved.
Oh how easy it is to look backward, and how futile, and how maddening. It is a game with no winners, endless moves, endless what-ifs, but no real winners. But..how can you look at your own life and find the things that need changing? Is it possible to catch those small, little things and instead of choosing actions that lead to death, instead choose the things that lead to life? How can you even recognize such things in the moment? Is it even possible? Or are we blinded by all the forest so that we can not see the trees right in front of us?
Prince is dead. He was a Jehovah's Witness. I am not judging. I really am not. I do know that religion shuns medical intervention in some cases, though the specifics of which I am clueless about. I know they won't ever accept blood transfusions, but beyond that...I am not sure. I wonder if his adherence to his religious beliefs caused him to not get medical treatment for his flu? Or was he not really sick with the flu and that is what his people decided to go with, to cover up something else. There are reports that he overdosed on opiates this past Friday and that is what caused his airplane to divert to an emergency landing. Of course, it will be weeks before any sort of pathology results come in, so it truly is stupid to speculate, so, ugh, shame on me.
I just wonder what it is I can learn from yet another death. Surely there is a lesson somewhere, right?
Comments
Post a Comment