Death of a Heroic Man

I read a touching, heartbreaking story in the New York Post yesterday. An eighty five year old man and his forty six year old mentally handicapped son, were both found dead in the apartment. The elderly man died of natural causes and they are saying his dependent son died of "neglect." I think it's quite clear that the son died of a broken heart, unable to comprehend why his best friend, his lifeline to the world, was not there to take care of him first thing in the morning. He may have vainly tried to wake him, to bring him back for hours and unable to do so, might have cried and carried on for hours. I think he was unable to process the loss mentally, but emotionally he did, he knew he had lost everything and his heart gave out. Grief killed him, not neglect. One can live without food and water for a long time, but a broken heart has been known to kill very effectively time and time again. In a perfect world, it should have happened the other way around, the old man who was a great father and a wonderful person, should have said goodbye first, but we don't live in a perfect world and at the end his son wasn't spared. Yet as sad as this story is, it's also what the heroic father would have wanted, for his son to follow him right away so he would never have to be just another faceless number in an institution. He loved his son with all his heart and his son loved him. He would have died a slow death in an institution, instead he is now with his father, together for eternity, so sometimes the fates are actually kind. May God bless them both.

Looks like Curtains for Hugo Chavez

Let's face it,the fiery, clownish Venezuelan leader is dying. His aggressive cancer hasn't been stopped and seems to be taking over his body. He gambled with his life by going to Cuba for treatment and he lost the gamble. His love for Cuba and Fidel Castro has blinded him to the reality of that country for decades, and when he got sick, at the most crucial hour of his life, by placing himself in their hands, he only succeeded in shortening his life. He hates the U.S. and would rather die than be treated here but he could have gone to Europe, he could have afforded the best care in the world, and he could have bought himself more time. Instead he entrusted himself to Cuba, refusing to see that he could only get substandard medical care there because Cuba is a poor country and they simply can't afford the latest technology. And now it's only a matter of months, his idol Fidel Castro will surely outlive him and grant him all the honors their life long relationship does require. What will happen to Venezuela after he's gone? Will democracy rise again or is it already too late? It will be interesting to see if his untimely death will finally liberate the contry he almost single-handedly destroyed.

Crime in Bolivia

There is an article in the Huffington Post that crime is growing in Bolivia, and that criminals are now using the popular mini buses people use for everything under the sun as weapons for murder. Right now these criminals are operating mainly out of El Alto, one of the poorest neighborhood in La Paz, Bolivia, but they could move down to the city real soon as more and more people in El Alto become aware of their perfidy. The way they operate is by picking up passengers, charging them their fare and then murdering them for their wallets, credit cards, etc. The article more or less blames poverty for the rise in crime but the real truth is that "The Shining Path criminals from Peru" ("Sendero Luminoso") are responsible for all the horrific crimes that are happening in Bolivia. When Peru cracked down, they fled to Bolivia in droves and have been thriving there ever since, teaching the natives to rob, kill and assault with impunity. Crime in Bolivia before this human vermin fled to our country was practically non existent. The natives were passive and accepting of their circumstances. Now they have learned from the masters and the result is that Bolivia has become very dangerous, with corruption reaching policemen and other members of government. Unfortunately the administration of Evo Morales is soft in crime and long in incompetence so most of these criminals are never caught, but let's put the blame where it really belongs, with the Shining Path criminals, this virulent, malignant group that once terrorized Peru, and let's not blame poverty. Let's put the blame on the administration of Evo Morales for not cracking down and allowing them to flourish, and let's not blame poverty because before the scourge of the Shining Path infiltrated our poor country, Bolivia lived with its poverty without killing anybody.

The High Cost of a Mild Winter

We're probably experiencing the mildest winter ever here in the East and though that may be a good thing in terms of energy costs and not having to deal with the hardships of snow and ice, it's not a good thing in terms of good health. I have never been sicker in my life. I had "hay fever" for the whole month of January and it came with blinding headaches, runny nose and frequent sneezing. And as if that weren't bad enough, in February I developed the meanest, most virulent cold I ever had in my life. It came with an awful sore throat that made me want to scream when I first swallowed in the morning, sending me running to the doctor. He examined me and said "you're suffering from a very bad cold, half of the neighborhood is in my office with this thing because the germs are thriving in this weather and there's nothing to kill them, so don't feel bad because you're not alone." He said to try keeping bed rest and hot liquids for three days and if I felt no improvement by the fourth day to take antibiotics. Unfortunately my throat was better on the fourth day and my voice came back so I assumed I was feeling better but the cold had gone to my chest and I developed bronchitis for the first time in my life, so I quickly filled the antibiotics just a day late, and now I'm hopefully on the mend. But this bout of ill health has thought me a lesson. I will never again complain about the cold, snow and ice, in fact I will welcome a rough winter, because that's the normal course of events, having spring in February is not normal and there's a high price to take.

The flak over Whitney's media coverage

I can't believe the comments from a certain Bill O'Reilly and others like him that we are over glorifying Whitney Houston when she actually killed herself by years of drug abuse and a dissipated existence. Wrong Mr. O'Reilly, we're not celebrating her drug abuse, her disastrous marriage and sending the wrong message as you have openly said on public television. We're celebrating the gift of her voice which made so many people happy. We're celebrating her incredible talent, the fact that her powerful, jubilant voice moved millions all over the world for nearly two decades before her tragic downfall. She was our Edith Piaf, our Billie Holiday and we adored her, so now in death we're taking the full measure of the woman and letting her go in style, the way she deserves. Never mind that she had her demons, that she plunged into darkness with the same velocity with which she rose to fame, that's irrelevant and she paid dearly for her mistakes. But when all is said and done, it's about the music she left us with, that's what the world is honoring this week. Kudos to Chris Christie for recognizing that, I take my hat off to him for having the guts to face criticism from folks like you. And as for you, and others like you, begrudging this tragic woman her rightful place in our world, all I've got to say is open your mind a little bit, don't look at just the surface of things, go deeper and you'll live a happier, fuller life.

The disappointing Grammy Awards

The greatest pop diva of the twentieth century dies and the parties do go on as though nothing of consequence had occurred. The Grammy Awards ceremony was extremely disappointing and shallow. The best part came at the beginning when we saw a snipet of Whitney singing. After that it was downhill all the way, the stupid jokes, the rushed prayers, the uncomfortable allusions, and finally the emotional rendition by Jennifer Hudson which was a case of "too little too late." They should have skipped all the stupid singing and dancing, give out their awards and concentrate on Whitney because the night belonged to her. They should have shown her videos when she was on top and her beautiful voice was unequalled in the world, but no, they went on with their show and on with their party while she laid dead in the hotel. It wasn't only ghoulish, it was disrespectful and inexcusable. Had she fallen so low that they no longer cared that she was once shone brighter than any of them? Her talent was so great that none of the performers there that night came even close to her.

Death of a Music Legend

The news of Whitney Houston's death is shocking and yet it isn't. She was on a downward spiral for a long time. Her troubled, self destructive marriage to Bobby Brown, her ravenous addiction to drugs; all this contributed to destroy the once beautiful, glorious singer. Perhaps the pressures of fame were too much for her, perhaps she would have been happier leading a quiet life and singing in a chorus in a little town somewhere, but her talent was too great, her voice too magnificent and needed to be shared with the world. She was a tragic figure but she gave us the gift of her music for many years and that's the gift that will endure. Her legacy is her music, that powerful, shining voice that came from a secret reservoir inside her soul and reached out to touch us all. Thank you for making us dream, Whitney, thank you for making us fall in love to your music. A grateful world bids you farewell with sadness and awe today.

Farewell Jeffrey Zaslow

The tragic, untimely death of author Jeffrey Zaslow in a freak accident yesterday in Michigan, left me shocked and dismayed. Life is fleeting but he made the most out of his relatively short life. He did what he was meant to do in this life and that was to create. That he was taken so suddenly and so brutally, this wonderful man who co-wrote "The Last Lecture" and many other substantial books, is one of the great ironies of life, and I'm sure he would have chosen to make his demise with time to say goodbye to his loved ones if he'd had the chance. Yes he led a full life, yes he knew what was really important but one still feels a deep sense of loss, a feeling of being gypped somehow. He had so much more to give but it wasn't meant to be. May he rest in peace.

JFK's Intern

Another hot little book has made its salacious appearance, folks. "Once Upon a Secret," by a certain intern who alledgedly had an affair with JKF when she was a sweet, innocent, virginal nineteen year old, and he, an aging, lecherous forty five year old. She calls it an affair, but it doesn't even qualify for that. It was more a relationship between a John and a call girl (and a cheap one at that) because other than the privilege of sleeping with the "president," she didn't get much out of it. In the round of interviews she's done to promote "her book," she says she never felt bad about losing her virginity to him on their second meeting in the White House, not did she feel bad about Jackie, the children or herself for that matter. "Maybe I was shocked it happened?" she says batting her eyelashes, this sixty eight year old woman who seems to have weathered her years very well. She feels bad about servicing another man in the pool, however, because the president asked her, although she admits that she didn't feel bad about it at that point. "Maybe I feel bad that I didn't feel bad?" she asks, smiling sweetly. "You know what I mean?" Her motivation is not money, she says, but wanting to unburden herself of the secret she's kept for fifty years. But why would she feel the need to unburden herself of something that she never felt was bad or shameful to begin with? Meredith looked baffled, but like the excellent interviewer she is, she handled the awkward moment beautifully. She will make a ton of money and that is her only motive for writing this sordid book, which does nothing but soil her own reputation by making her look like a fool. As for the president, we all know he was a great womanizer so there's no surprise there. He already paid the ultimate price so his mystique will continue unabated.

Greg Kelly's Accuser

All charges against Greg Kelly (TV talk show host and son of NYPD Commissioner) were dropped today and he will be free to resume his life and career, but the damage to his reputation has already been done because there will be many people out there who would look at him with a jaundiced eye wondering what really happened; and all because his quick pick up wanted to come back for seconds or needed some publicity to ignite her modelling career (she's an aspirant model, folks) and is probably finding it hard to get work the usual way. The worst thing of it all is that she won't even face any punishment from the law. How is that possible? Her story had holes all over the place right from the beginning and should have never been brought to the public, yet it was and she succeeded in humiliating and embarrassing the host. I'm afraid that as long as these women can press false charges against men due to variety of reasons without any punishment, many more will suffer. When are they going to be held accountable? And when are men going to learn that those one night stands simply do not pay? I hope Greg Kelly learns from this and never does it again. As for her, she should consider herself darn lucky she got away with it. Some day the law will stop being so tolerant of these liars and will have to prosecute them for bringing false charges.

A Real Greek Tragedy

The Susan Powell story is a real Greek tragedy, there's just no other way to describe it - married to a monster, being constantly harassed and molested by a pervert father in law - living in terror for years, and finally ending up dead at the hands of her sick husband. And if that weren't enough, now her children and monster husband are dead by fire in a horrific murder suicide. The law failed these children miserably. The sick individual who killed them was under the umbrella of suspicion for years, but because they only had circumstantial evidence, they allowed him to keep the children until recently, and he continued living his miserable life unscathed, spreading vicious innuendo about the victim running off with another man, etc. Now two beautiful, innocent children are dead at the hands of this monster who couldn't even do one decent thing in his life and take himself alone, no, he had to take his children with him. He should have been arrested immediately after his wife went missing, instead the cops pretended to buy that cockamamie story that he went camping in a blizzard, in the middle of the night while his wife went running to her lover, or that she simply vanished into thin air by black magic. The law has to change. It has to stop protecting criminals. If the circumstantial evidence reeks to high heaven that should be enough to arrest an individual. Had they done that with this psycho, the two tragic children he murdered would be alive today.

Adieu to Ben Gazarra

Adieu to a wonderful actor who left a lasting legacy. His dark looks, brooding manner and famous intensity were his trademark, yet one always suspected there was more, much more under the surface that hadn't been explored yet. His piercing eyes, which were his best feature, couldn't hide an inner sadness and a melancholy nature. One sensed that for Ben Gazarra life was a painful affair. There was always a loneliness and heaviness there that nothing seemed to alleviate, it's what gave his work its power, what had us remembering him long after the movie was over. He never sought fame,riches and power like many of his contemporaries, instead, it seemed to be the work he was after. And it is that rich, varied tapestry of work which will now survive him.

Joaquin Phoenix

Last night I saw the infamous "mockdocumentary" that this gifted actor engaged in last year. I was switching channels and caught it quite by chance(already started, thank God) on Starz. The question that begs an answer is why would he engage in such stupidity and such brutality? He was bloated, foul mouthed, abusive, unkempt and quite gross in this painful to watch video, for what purpose? To shock people? To make fun of them? He looked like an utter fool making the real breakdown with Charlie Sheen seem like a walk in the park. Didn't he learn anything from his brother's tragic, untimely death? Why would he want to discredit himself in such a manner? Maybe he's not as solid as I thought he was and he may also have a monkey on his back. This horrid video is probably one of the most destructive things he did because there are many people out there now (including me) who actually think that there was a lot of truth to it.