You shall not grow old….

His name was Mitch Hedberg, and I’ve been following news about him since, well, since his death. I first happened upon his bit whilst downloading random MPGs from Kazaa a few years ago. It was one of his standup acts performed on the David Letterman show. With his hair covering his eyes which were also hidden from view by rose-colored sunglasses, Mitch delivered one after another short jokes and observations that I found hilarious. Some of my favorite:

“You know that Pepperidge Farm bread, that stuff is fancy. That stuff is wrapped twice. You open it, and it still ain't open. That's why I don't buy it, I don't need another step between me and toast.”

“Dogs are always in the pushup position.”

"I don't have a microwave but I do have a clock that occasionally
cooks shit."

Mitch, it seems, had some bad demons. He not only did drugs, but he did a lot of them. This abuse is likely what contributed to his untimely death just before his first HBO special at the age of 37 this past March. I, too, am 37 this year, so I find myself examining this man’s life along with my own. He shall not grow old as I shall grow old, and now we wonder about the real man and the things that drove him. What is it that drives me or what turmoil exists in each of us that no one might ever know about until we are gone from here?

Jupiter, like most of the planets, is a tempestuous place. Scientists say that red spot is actually a gigantic storm wherein many earths could fit, yet from afar we hardly think of it at all, or of any of the storms going on in the gulf or in the next county ... or in the next person. We, too, are made of storms. We are two things: mountains and storms. The mountains stand up to the storms, but the storms never stop trying to take down the mountains. In Mitch’s case, maybe the storm got big enough and the mountain was worn enough and it finally capitulated. We should know that there is one who is over both and that the storms will never stop coming. However, the mountain’s roots will run deep and the storm need not destroy, but instead shape the mountain and give it character.

God bless Mitch. Rest in peace….