In the wake of yet another music icon lost to a suspected drug overdose (Whitney Houston), I’d like to say a few words. There’s no way I can pay tribute to all of the great musicians, actors, comedians, and entertainers that have had a tremendous influence or personal impacts on our lives and have been lost to drug and alcohol abuse. Also, celebrities aside, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that probably almost anyone that reads this has known someone who they lost to either drug overdose or complications from past drug use. I know I have…several.
Another reason I’m not going to mention all of the artists lost over the years is because frankly (and I know this may be an extremely unpopular opinion/statement) I don’t really identify with or care about all of them. This is not to say that I feel that anyone should overdose and die on drugs, but they did not all have the same effect on my life. The two people I will mention here today struck a chord with me in particular and this is why…