Name: the tobacco industry
Age: ageless
Occupation: shoving smoke into our bodies, eyes and other body parts
Last Seen: everywhere
Bee-otched For: driving talented people to their death
-Age: ageless
Occupation: shoving smoke into our bodies, eyes and other body parts
Last Seen: everywhere
Bee-otched For: driving talented people to their death
Death comes in threes, as they all say.
Last week alone, the world of rock music lost three legends. First, it was Daniel Johnston, the Austin-based singer and songwriter whose homemade recordings influenced others like Beck, Death Cab For Cutie and even Kurt Cobain. His famous murals, including an alien-like creature saying "Hello, how are you?" are seen all throughout Austin. He struggled with mental issues throughout his life, in which some critics claimed helped his songwriting. He was found dead at his home at the age of 58 last week due to natural causes.
Then, there was Eddie Money, the 1970s and 80s hitmaker best-known for tunes like "Baby Hold On", "Two Tickets to Paradise", "Walk on Water" and "Take Me Home Tonight". Although a New York native, he meant a lot to Michigan's blue collar residents, especially since DTE Energy Music Theatre would often schedule him as the first concert of the year. Born Edward Joseph Mahoney to a large Catholic family, Money lost his battle with esophageal cancer on Friday. He was 70.
And last, but not least, there was Ric Ocasek. In 1976, the Ohio native formed the legendary power pop group The Cars in Boston with Benjamin Orr, Elliot Easton, Greg Hawkes and David Robinson. Just two years later, their self-titled debut album was recorded and sold over six million copies. In their original 12 years together, The Cars sold over 20 million copies of their albums and scored huge hits with "Tonight She Comes", "You Might Think" (seen above), "Shake It Up" and their biggest hit, the ballad "Drive", which peaked at #3 in 1984. Both Ocasek and Orr shared vocal duties (Orr sang lead on "Drive"). However, after the disappointment of their 1987 album "Door To Door", they broke up. They would reunite a few times since, especially last year when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. Orr, however died in 2000 from pancreatic cancer at age 53.
Sadly, on Sunday morning, Ric died at his home in New York City. He was 75. His body was discovered by his estranged wife, Paulina Porizkova. He left behind six sons, two from each of his three marriages.
What might be even more sad is that Daniel Johnston, Eddie Money and Ric Ocasek all had one thing in common: all three smoked. In Ocasek's case, he battled heart disease, which can be caused by smoking. He died the morning after heart surgery.
We've all seen the commercials since they're everywhere: the one with the woman who lost her jaw and teeth due to smoking. The one with the woman on a treadmill who has a cancer hole in her neck and has to speak using an electronic voice box. The one with Leonard Nimoy's widow talking about her husband's struggles with COPD, caused by years of smoking. The list goes on. All those folks smoked, too and paid the price.
I'm blessed that I never smoked. Then again, both my parents have smoked since they were in their early teens. My Dad is 67 and has smoked Marlboros since he was 11. Being the oldest of seven children, we all thought that he would be the first to go because of his habit. We were wrong since my aunt and his middle sister died last year at 60 from brain cancer. However, she never smoked. My Mom is 63 and is also a life-long smoker. But thankfully, she's moved to vaping. Granted, it's still not healthy for you, but at least for smokers, it allows for people around them to smell scented vapor as opposed to disgusting second hand smoke.
Recently, Michigan's governor Gretchen Whitmer announced that flavored e-cigs would be banned here. Not long afterward, Drumpf announced that he would ban them, too. Needless to say, I'm very mixed about the whole ordeal. Since I drive my Mom around town a lot on her days off, she does vape in my car. I did tell her that if she goes back to regular cigarettes, she will not smoke them in my car.
IMHO, I see good and bad in vaping. Yes, I'd rather smell synthetic fruity stuff vs. second hand smoke, but sadly, vaping is still dangerous. And yes, it's sad when teens think it's cool to vape to the point where they're collapsing in school toilet stalls, causing the principal to yank off the doors. Thanks to vaping, if you have the need to poop, people will now be watching you.
Look, I've had the misfortune of having people in my car and home smoking. Christ, my parents would smoke around me in the car with the goddamned windows rolled up! "You'll be OK, son," they would say, even though one of the people featured from one of the "A Tip From A Former Smoker" commercials died from years of breathing in secondhand smoke. What might be worse is the fact that instead of spending money on me, my parents blew a lot of their paychecks on cigarettes. I never wore cool clothes; instead, I was a walking advertisement for Kmart. Often, I was bullied because instead of Nikes or the Reebok Pump, I got some piece of shit no-name shoes that fell apart only a few months later.
The reality is that smoking turns human beings into people that don't have their priorities straight. They don't care about their health and especially for those who smoke real cigs, they could care less about their surroundings. If I get lung cancer, I'll be happy to blame it on all the assholes who have blown smoke in my face for years.
Sadly, the tobacco companies are still raking in billions despite also funding anti-smoking campaigns. People still think it's cool, especially since we're all going to die anyway. Think of it this way: my paternal grandfather smoked until around 1980 or so and still died of lung cancer 21 years later at age 75. My maternal grandfather was 82 when he died and wasn't a smoker. To add fuel to the fire, he was diabetic and drank like a fish. Both my parents smoke and have high blood pressure. Although I weigh more than my parents, my blood pressure is quite normal.
Yes, when you smoke, you'll be cool like a rock star or actor on the outside, but your innards will be telling you to go fuck yourself.
---
--
Got a Bee-otch to nominate? E-mail us @ chuck69dotcom@gmail.com. All suggestions (except for me) are welcome!
Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com
Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
Bee-otch of the Day Archives can be seen on http://beeotchoftheday.blogspot.com
Bee-otch of the Day is a production of Chuck69.com, Grand Rapids' site for Stern, politics and more!
CHUCK69.COM IS ALWAYS ON!
No comments:
Post a Comment