TODAY OUR FRIEND DIED

Sadly, many people are saying that today...

The friends of the 22-year-old man celebrating the Fourth of July 

who was killed instantly over the weekend when authorities said he tried to launch fireworks from atop his head.  

Devon Staples was drinking and put a reloadable fireworks mortar tube on his head, lighting it.  

Mortar tubes are usually made from cardboard and used to hold pre-packaged charges.


Then, there is George Clooney:

"Today our friend, Jerry Weintraub died. To his family and friends, Amal and I send our love. 

And to those who didn’t know him we send our deepest sympathy. You would have loved him.” 

The title to Jerry Weintraub's autobiography is ironic:

Jerry Weintraub was a self-made millionaire who at the age of 26, took Elvis Presley on the road. 

He went on to produce famous films such as the Karate Kid movies and Oceans Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteeen.

The book is  filled with great stories depicting how Weintraub went from working the streets of Brooklyn 

to mixing with the elite at The White House 

and movie stars such as George Clooney, Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts ... 

and singers like Frank Sinatra, Elvis, Led Zepplin, Neil Diamond, The Carpenters, and Jane Morgan, 

whom he later married.

In one word, the book is about persistence:

 “If there’s one piece of advice I can give to young people, to kids trying to break out of Brooklyn and Kankakee, it’s this:

persist, push, hang on, keep going, never give up. 

When the man says no, pretend you can’t hear him. Look confused, stammer, say, “Huh?”. Persistence—it’s a cliché, but it happens to work.”

I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Jerry himself.  

He was a lovable rogue,  The first 2/3 of the book was great.  

Then, Jerry fell victim to the Hollywood syndrome: dump the faithful wife for a newer model.

But the first 2/3 of the book is fascinating ... and which of us is perfect?