Thought of the Day
 |
James Joyner | Tuesday, November 24, 2009 |
Jonathan Last calls this NYT obit for Dennis Cole “the saddest thing you’ll read today.”
To think that you can be one minute marrying one of Charlie’s Angels and then a few years later dying alone in Ft. Lauderdale while doing cruise ship acts.
People have taken faster, deeper dives, of course. But, yes, not the life he’d have imagined in 1978.
Naturally, I’m reminded of the lyrics of “Every Mother’s Son,” one of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s lesser classics.
Well I’ve been ridin’ a winning horse for a long, long time
Sometimes I wonder is this the end of the line
No one should take advantage of who they are
No man has got it made
If he thinks he does, he’s wrong(chorus)
Every mother’s son better hear what I say
Every mother’s son will rise and fall somedayI’ve seen it happen so many times, so many times before
Some man got so much money he doesn’t worry no more
Or he’s got such a pretty woman that’ll treat him fine
Well my friend has been a fool
It happens every time(chorus)
I’m not tryin’ to preach to no one, to no one at all
I’ve seen so many of my good friends just rise to fall
‘Cause they got so much money or a woman so fine
Well my friends have all been fools, it happens every time
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
Follow James on FriendFeed | Twitter | Digg
- Thought of the Day
- Ready to Whine on Day One
- Quote of the Day – Retirement Edition
- Republicans Beating Democrats at Money Game
- Jenna Bush ‘Butt Dance’ Video
- Quantitative Easing vs. AIG Bonuses
- If We Build Three Really Large Pyramids…
- Mark Penn: It Was Obama’s Money, Not My Incompetence
- Caption Contest Winners
- Hitchens in Beirut
- Arnold Kling on the Progressives
- Murtha Dead, District Next?
- U.S. Senate The World’s Greatest Deliberative Body
- Bush: Miss Me Yet?
- DC Snow Record Likely
- Super Bowl 44 Most Watched Show Ever, Topples M*A*S*H Finale
- Caption Contest Winners
- John Murtha Dead at 77
- Jon Stewart: Blogs Must Be Crazy
- NFL Players Association vs. Typical Unions
I was just the right age to love "Bearcats" (12 or 13). I didn't connect that show to his later his later role as "husband of." Still, 69 is a pretty good run. And maybe he had a good time on those cruise ships.
Sad? I think not. 69 years old, TV career, hot wife (for a few years), working on cruise ships sounds semi-retired, living in Florida when not on the ship. If that's sad then what about the poor working stiffs who scrape by on Social Security for a couple of years in a cold house before dying.
To paraphrase Ronnie Van Zant, sic transit gloria mundi.
Cole's only son was murdered in a robbery. That is sad no matter what your circumstances.
In a strange six degrees of Bacon twist, Henry Rollins survived that robbery (and wrote about in "Now Watch Him Die".) I would have been otherwise hard pressed to connect Black Flag to Charlie's Angels.
I don't see what's sad about it at all, other than his son being murdered. And a few years between marrying an Angel and dying alone? First, the obit says nothing about dying alone. Second, he married her in 1978--that's 30 years. Even on my timeline, that's more than a "few years." In other words, Last really had nothing to say and so he went for clever. Maybe that's what's sad.
Thanks for sharing that clip. Demonstrating again what a great band LS was in its day!
Comments are Closed
