I’m watching TV, and there’s a headline running along the
bottom of the screen…DJ AM found dead in his apartment. Drug paraphernalia was
found in his place.
....
I had a girls’ vacation earlier this summer. When I got off
the plane, I had emails about Michael Jackson being dead. Drugs were suspected…
....
Heath Ledger. An odd combination of drugs…
....
Anna Nicole. Drugs…
....
On and on and on….
....
It’s crazy, you know?
I grew up in Detroit. I thought this kind of thing only
happened in the kind of neighborhoods that I knew. Now it’s an increasingly
“normal” occurrence…made it into the mainstream…huh.
....
A kid I went to high school with got shot and crawled his
way back home before bleeding to death on the street.
Another kid I went to church with got shot and killed for
something stupid and unnecessary…certainly not worth his life.
Two kids I know from “back in the day” went to prison…for
what? The heat of the moment? The
environment they grew up in? The pressure?
I get that to an extent.
....
But, it makes me nervous to think that part of Hollywood is
starting to resemble the streets. It’s funny how some people might think that
it’s the hip hop artists who are living this kind of lifestyle. But that’s not
really the case.
....
Maybe I should just shut my mouth and ignore what’s
happening. But, it seems crazy to me. I know why some people get into that kind
of lifestyle…but it’s hard to wrap my mind around people who have “choices”.
....
I think about one of my best friends in school. Her mom’s
house wasn’t heated enough in the winter, so we’d jump into her tiny bed, pile
blankets on and stay as close as possible to stay warm. But we had some of the
BEST conversations on those nights. We were thick as thieves. Would we have
preferred to be warmer and more comfortable? I’m sure we would have. But that
wasn’t an option.
....
What’s going on when the “mainstream” is adopting a type of
lifestyle that they don’t HAVE to? You do what you think you have to when your
options are so limited. But… when you’re watching TV and another “star” is gone
because of this shit? Why?
....
Tonight I feel so sad because this doesn’t have to be the
case. And yet…another spirit, another life…wasted. Gone for no good reason.
I want these moments to be more few and far between. I
really do.