Brad Renfro's Death and Other Celebrity Deaths

Just when one thinks that nothing more shocking than a current event could happen...a little time passes and another shocking event happens. Is it shocking because death in itself is shocking because we never know when the good Lord will call us home. In addition to the deaths alone being shock factors, when it is a celebrity... those we idolize and want to be like... who they and we believe are invincible and will live on forever (I think you get the point) we are more shocked.

The most recent of our celebrities to fall is Brad Renfro who died at age 25. Everytime I see a young celebrity die I think back to my first remembrance of losing an idol and that was River Phoenix. Even more sad than the fact that they were young is the fact that their deaths were mostly caused by drugs. My first reaction is that they are acting like spoiled brats and think that they can buy their way out of anything but when are these kids gonna learn that the grim reaper does not accept foreign currency! Second reaction is wanting to know why (criminal profiler in me). Are they depressed? Sad? Partying? One thing is for sure...being a child celebrity is not all it is cracked up to be...(ask Brit & Lindsey). Apparently though, Brad Renfro has been in trouble with the law throughout his acting career. Things such as underage drinking, heroin, driving under the influence, and theft. It is truly sad to watch the demise of a celebrity on national television. There was definatley an issue here and they need to be addressed before we lose another one (Yes, celebrities really are people too!!).
Oddly enough though, his career started through participating in a Anti-drug commercial.

Even though I am shocked by the death of Brad Renfro, 2007 was a pretty numbing year. In a matter of twelve days (Nov 19-30) we lost Evel Knievel, the motorcycle daredevil who has jumped several obstacles, suffered many broken bones in his career and the only thing that could beat him was the diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis and Sean Taylor the Washington Redskins Safety who was murdered in his home.

My personal favorite and deepest loss to me was that of Kevin DuBrow, the lead singer for Quiet Riot who died of an accidental cocaine dose. First let me say that, I loved Kevin! I had the opportunity to attend a meet and greet at the Tracks Record Store at Wards Corner, Norfolk, Virginia back in the late 80's. He was so awesome! He was down to earth and didn't act like his poo stunk. He was real and trust me I was at enough of these meet and greets to be able to tell you who is genuine and who is not. I was totally taken aback because although the "metal heads" have reputations for doing drugs, drinking, and partying; I just didnt want to believe or accept that it was true. I was truly saddened wondering what could have gone so wrong that he needed to resort to taking the drugs but, we will never know the answer to that.

After what happened on my birthday last year (June 24) I really thought nothing else was going to happen. Last year on my birthday was when the TV announced that the Canadian Crippler was gone. But, not only was he gone...he murdered his wife and son and then hung himself. The results of the tox screen? Yup, again drugs.

The identities of the different drugs that the celebrities took doesnt matter. Drugs are drugs and Anna Nicole taught us that.

After the events that took place last February 2007, none of the above deaths should have shocked us at all. Anna was our wild Playboy Playmate who struggled with several different issues in life. She was "not all there" to the public and seemed to be on a path of destruction until... December 8, 2006 when she gave birth to her baby girl Dannie Lynn. But, the celebration was short lived because two days later, her son Daniel died from a drug overdose. No matter if we liked her or hated her, we were all still very sad for her.

Just when we are able to cope with what happened, she died from what has now been determined to be a bacterial infection from Vitamin B12 injections she had been getting, along with methadone, zoloft, and lexapro. All the in and out of court took the national spotlight for most of 2007 and we could only hope that the baby would be given to whom she belonged and have a happy life.

Britney Spears and all of her troubles reminds me a lot of how Anna Nicole's life evolved. When Anna had her show on television, I watched it often if only to laugh at how stupid she could be and act. Then, had I been asked if her death would have been accepted, I would have said yes. However, in the last two years of her life, I saw a change in her and efforts to become better. I even believe that she finally had come to peace with herself on many levels.

It is so sad to see so many talented people's lives wasted by drug use. What is the answer to this problem? Apparently their friends falling victims and seeing other Hollywood Figures in the news doesn't deter the use or is it a factor that some of them had used the drug so long that they were addicted? As for me and my family, I boycott people that I see in trouble on television. Seriously! I refuse to pay for cocaine and by buying their products, services, or whatever gives them the ability to buy. My little pennies probably won't affect them but it is my principle and hey, if everyone did that than they would realize how bad the image is for their reputation, that society is no longer tolerating it, and they would possibly think twice about doing drugs.