"Get Outta My Garage!"
If you’re old enough to understand that reference, you can’t be much younger than I am at best. I’m having one of THOSE birthdays this week end. To celebrate, I’m going to help some friends muck out their Family Camp in preparation for the 2008 season.
I dug up that picture as a response to the black banner that is currently hanging on my office door. Incidentally, I looked up Freddie Prinze in Wikipedia. I had forgotten that he had killed himself at such a young age. (Memory: one of the first things to go. *sigh*) I had thought he was at least 30, but he was only 23. Such was the energy level of his life that he seemed older. Here are two quotes from the Wiki article I’d like to share.
“Prinze was born
Prinze was raised in a Hispanic section in Washington Heights, New York City. He began his education at a private Lutheran school, in a religious compromise by his parents (though his mother took him to Catholic mass on Sundays). “
“During the early morning hours of January 28, 1977, after receiving a restraining order from his ex-wife the previous evening, Prinze, who occasionally told friends that "life isn't worth living", made a series of farewell phone calls to family, friends and management from his hotel room at the Beverly Comstock Hotel. His business manager, Marvin "Dusty" Snyder, was alarmed after receiving one of the calls and rushed over to Prinze's room. When Snyder arrived, Prinze continued his rueful phone calls, telling his mother "Mom, I love you very much, but I can't go on. I need to find peace." Snyder called Prinze's psychologist from the next room about what was happening, but the psychologist insisted that Prinze was in no actual danger. Snyder returned to Prinze, who supposedly called his ex-wife and said "I love you, Kathy. I love the baby, but I need to find peace. I can't go on." After the call, Prinze pulled out a gun from the sofa. Snyder tried to intervene, but Prinze shot himself in the head, and was rushed to the UCLA Medical Center to be placed on life support following emergency surgery. Prinze's family removed him from life support, and he died at 1:00 pm on January 29 at the age of 22.
The death, initially ruled a suicide, was years later re-ruled an "accidental shooting due to the influence of Quaaludes". His mother, Maria, led the effort to have the cause of death reworded. Prinze had a history of playing with guns, faking suicide attempts to frighten his friends for his amusement. He had left a note stating that the decision to take his life was his alone, but because he pulled the trigger in the presence of a witness -- something suicides rarely do -- it gave enough weight to the argument that he really was not planning to take his own life that night.”
Ok… er… I mean… shuuuure! Why not?
His Mother Maria made a monumental effort to have the wording on the cause of death changed. This is because Catholics have a huge hangup about suicide. God won’t let you into Heaven if you kill yourself … unless you didn’t really mean to. My question is this: who was she trying to convince? Church dogma would suggest that Jehovamagod, being omniscient, knows the real score, so …. Was she trying to convince the priests? Does their opinion really change reality like that? Are they bound by a secular court document? Help me out here.
posted by breakerslion @ 11:13 AM
6 comments
6 Comments:
I think she was trying to convince herself. Mothers take their children's successes and failures very personally, and that sort of failure to thrive is one of the worst. I feel sorry for her, because the death of a child in any form is brutal to have to live with, and suicide is especially rough. I am fortunate enough to not have the experience, but those near to me have, and it hollows out your soul. I think she was just trying to find her own peace. The whole Catholic thing just adds more icing to the cake.
ILD
Heute ist fünf-und-zwanzig Mai. Freuliche Gebürtstag, mein Schatz!
ILD
well, I didn't understand the reference, but that might be because I've never watched or paid much attention to Television. Without looking him up, I'm thinking he was a T.V. star?
About his Mother justifying the suicide...I think I can understand that sort of denial. I imagine there is a lot of guilt associated with a loved one's suicide & of course the Catholic Church would play up on that sort of thing.
It's all about appearances isn't it? There is so much credence lent to the suspension of disbelief in our Court system as well as the court of public opinion. It isn't that you didn't do the crime somebody else needs to prove it.
You can be guilty as hell but if they can't prove it then "whatever loser".
It is a sin because the Vatican needs every able bodied Catholic to keep reproducing like rodents...it's the only way to stay ahead of the competition.
The other day I was wondering out loud how the Vatican can be it's own country..HELLO!?
Like other profit oriented corporations, any functional business plan needs to keep expanding the customer base...
so it just won't do having some of them voluntarily leaving the marketplace.
So many Comedians live troubled lives. People don't seem to realise that most Comedy comes from rage and not from being happy and funny...
most of it is outright angry venting at things in Life that we aren't supposed to talk about.
Seriously, in our Culture only the Comedians can say things that aren't PC.
Anon:
You might have something there. This is an angle that I had not considered.
handmaiden: I became addicted to TV at an early age, and later theatre. I discovered just yesterday that I still knew all the words to the H.R. Puffinstuff theme song. This was a program that absolutely disgusted me on many levels, and I did not watch more than 2 episodes in my life!
I think of the two of us, you are the luckier one for avoiding this, but someday, Rosie and I will have a showdown! MuHuHaHaHa!
donn: Comedic license seems to be a tradition far older than our culture. Too bad more people don't take them seriously. The court jester is still shouting down the well all these centuries later.
when you are able to remove what you think you know about catholocism...you will understand how and why his mother felt he didn't mean to kill himself. he was so wasted on luudes that he did not even have the strength to depress the strings to play his guitar...let alone pull the trigger. also he had a habit of pranking people with the gun and the only difference is that on january 28th, 1977 h did not see that the safety was "off". if you've ever handled a weapon you would know that the safety is marked by a tiny red dot.
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