Not Fade Away

With the recent passing of both David Bowie and Glenn Frey, a large shudder went up for a sizable portion of the population. The deaths were shocking and sad, for none of us knew that those two music icons were gravely ill. But, it went beyond the normal mourning of an entertainer dying. No, it was another sign, an all-too-familiar sign, that we are getting older........ When you are younger, the stars in entertainment who passed on were much older than you, they were your parents generation. While you may have liked them and the work they did, it wasn't something that shook you because they were.... well..... OLD. And, old people are expected to die. No one dies when you are young. The performers we grew up with---or, those who were contemporaries--- would always be there, for their work would never die. And, by extension, their audience [us] would never die. Unless they foolishly died by their own hands, via drugs or some other self-destruction, we were all comforted in knowing that the good times would still be rolling....... And, then, something strange happens: THEY DID DIE. Some, like John Lennon, were ripped from us in a horrible way. But, most deaths are not from a street shooting in cold blood, but, from more personal ways, such as cancer. When you have a  Bowie or a Frey die from all-too-human afflictions, the shudder takes over all of us. For its is the sign of mortality hovering around us, a black veil that will find its target eventually...... I think that is what is so strong about the deaths of those two [And, many others, so far this year]. They are leaving us. And, we are not prepared to say goodbye to them. I don't want this to sound maudlin or building Bowie and Frey up to be historical figures, but, when people who mean so much to you, even though you have never met them, pass away, it cuts deep and sad. Our daily lives are not changed, we still have to go to work and pay our bills. However, the world seems colder and more lonely without them because you get tired of saying goodbye to someone you hold dear----even at long distance....... The figures in the Arts I admire [mind you, they are not heroes, because the ultimate hero in life is yourself], whose work has enriched my life, are all up there in age. Nicholson, Pacino, De Niro, Hackman, Hoffman, Duvall, titanic actors who have touched genius on film, are almost in the Final Act in life. They are men in their 70's and 80's who will not be around for much longer. And, that includes music people like a McCartney, Jagger, Steven Tyler, Springsteen, and the rest of the Eagles. They are old, something, I'm sure, no one needs to tell them. We all belong to the generation that wasn't gonna get old and die. We would still keep rockin and rollin, never pausing for such outdated things as illness and death. We would forever dance in the glorious freedom of youth, always surviving. And, we would have the Pied Pipers to lead us. But, the music is slowly stopping. The movie screen faded to a darkness that will never see light again. Ladies and Gentlemen, ''Welcome to the show, my friends, to the show that will end''...........But, the flame of life will never be totally extinguished because of what the artists have taught us. Their words and music and feelings are all part of our souls, in our spirit so furiously that it will never die. That is the great gift in performance, the gift that you keep with you forever. The Beatles broke up long ago, with two of its members silenced, but, their music and what they have meant to people goes on gloriously. Elvis Presley is eternally the King Of Rock &Roll, young, thin, smoldering in raw sexual heat. Mick Jagger is prancing in our minds, touching the naughty images as he chants that he can't get no satisfaction. Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, etc, all play to the endless musical concert that swirls in our DNA. And, the vivid images that Nicholson and crew have given to us play endlessly in a reel of glory, plucked effortlessly from memory to memory with an internal smile. They are the guardians of our youth, the gatekeepers of good times. When they are all gone, it will be sad. But, the gifts they have given us are priceless, the ultimate benediction of sharing........ So, we mourn Glenn Frey and David Bowie and whomever may be next, for they deserve to be mourned. It is respect. It is, also, a big THANK YOU for all that you have given us. As long as their work lives on, they will live on, rightfully so. For they shall all pass on........ Except, Keith Richards. Nothing will kill that son of a bitch........