Requiem for Michael Jamal Brooks

[DarterBlue]

I discovered Micheal while on lockdown after I finished my project in early April. He did a weekly show on Youtube, TMBS show. He was born in New York but grew up in northern Massachusetts. I was never a Patreon contributor although I considered it. The lack of a regular income given my retirement status, was my excuse. Anyway, I listened to his show when he posted it as free content after it aired. Why did I consistently listen? Michael had the best knowledge, hands down, of the Caribbean and Latin America of any American I have met or been acquainted with in the 37+ years I have lived here. Given I have the very human attribute of being vain, I was tremendously impressed with his knowledge which extended from the politics of the region to the music and culture.

Michael was two weeks shy of 37 years old and died from a throat thrombosis two days after he did his final show. In that sense he could have been my son, as my oldest is only 17 months younger. To the right wing DJT supporters on this board, Michael is someone you would condemn as belonging to the lunatic left. Why? Because that is what you do to anyone that does not share your dystopian view of the future. But that is what it is. I suppose those that have something to contribute to society have a bad habit of dying young while many far less worthy seem to live on for ever. Life is not fair.

RIP Michael. Gone but not forgotten.  

[HSFBfan]

1 minute ago, DarterBlue said:

I discovered Micheal while on lockdown after I finished my project in early April. He did a weekly show on Youtube, TMBS show. He was born in New York but grew up in northern Massachusetts. I was never a Patreon contributor although I considered it. The lack of a regular income given my retirement status, was my excuse. Anyway, I listened to his show when he posted it as free content after it aired. Why did I consistently listen? Michael had the best knowledge, hands down, of the Caribbean and Latin America of any American I have met or been acquainted with in the 37+ years I have lived here. Given I have the very human attribute of being vain, I was tremendously impressed with his knowledge which extended from the politics of the region to the music and culture.

Michael was two weeks shy of 37 years old and died from a throat thrombosis two days after he did his final show. In that sense he could have been my son, as my oldest is only 17 months younger. To the right wing DJT supporters on this board, Michael is someone you would condemn as belonging to the lunatic left. Why? Because that is what you do to anyone that does not share your dystopian view of the future. But that is what it is. I suppose those that have something to contribute to society have a bad habit of dying young while many far less worthy seem to live on for ever. Life is not fair.

RIP Michael. Gone but not forgotten.  

In the words of Billy Joel( I think) only the good die young 

[DarterBlue]

21 minutes ago, HSFBfan said:

In the words of Billy Joel( I think) only the good die young 

Yeah, it was Billy Joel who was surprisingly popular in Jamaica. Just the way you are reached number 2 on the local charts when I was doing my undergrad work. 

[HSFBfan]

12 minutes ago, DarterBlue said:

Yeah, it was Billy Joel who was surprisingly popular in Jamaica. Just the way you are reached number 2 on the local charts when I was doing my undergrad work. 

Gotcha. Lost several friends who never saw 30 years old

[DarterBlue]

Just now, HSFBfan said:

Gotcha. Lost several friends who never saw 30 years old

The only friend I lost that young was the jockey I told you about in the Racing post. He was six months short of thirty. He died because to support his drug habit, he broke into a business looking to support his habit. Well he tripped off the alarm and the next thing you know the cops surround the place. They did not give him a chance to surrender; they executed him. It was a sad end to a jockey who at one time had a promising career ahead of him. 

I did have several acquaintances from my youth who did not see 30, though. But I would not describe them as friends.  

[HSFBfan]

Just now, DarterBlue said:

The only friend I lost that young was the jockey I told you about in the Racing post. He was six months short of thirty. He died because to support his drug habit, he broke into a business looking to support his habit. Well he tripped off the alarm and the next thing you know the cops surround the place. They did not give him a chance to surrender; they executed him. It was a sad end to a jockey who at one time had a promising career ahead of him. 

I did have several acquaintances from my youth who did not see 30, though. But I would not describe them as friends.  

I lost 2 friends to cancer 

Another acquaintance was hit by a train 

Lost my cousin to drugs at 26 

It sucks but life goes on i guess 

[DarterBlue]

3 minutes ago, HSFBfan said:

I lost 2 friends to cancer 

That's sad that people so young died from cancer. To die from an overdose is also pretty sad, but you could blame the person for starting to do the drugs to begin with, kind of like my jockey friend. He was not a criminal, but his desire for another fix overcame him and he paid the price. So, I guess he was an indirect victim of drugs too. 

[HSFBfan]

2 minutes ago, DarterBlue said:

That's sad that people so young died from cancer. To die from an overdose is also pretty sad, but you could blame the person for starting to do the drugs to begin with, kind of like my jockey friend. He was not a criminal, but his desire for another fix overcame him and he paid the price. So, I guess he was an indirect victim of drugs too. 

Yep i agree 

Yep many people die of cancer. I dont send money to too many organizations since I don't have much money to do that but I usually donate money to st. Judes. I dont believe young kids should die of cancer and I believe money should go towards helping.

At the same time I dont believe well have a cure for cancer as it would put companies out of business and what business would let something come out to put them out of business 

[DarterBlue]

17 minutes ago, HSFBfan said:

Yep i agree 

Yep many people die of cancer. I dont send money to too many organizations since I don't have much money to do that but I usually donate money to st. Judes. I dont believe young kids should die of cancer and I believe money should go towards helping.

At the same time I dont believe well have a cure for cancer as it would put companies out of business and what business would let something come out to put them out of business 

It's a pretty sad situation if the drug companies have a cure but will not release it for the sake of generating profits. It never used to be like that. Perhaps there is something wrong with the system?

[ngdawg]

32 minutes ago, HSFBfan said:

I lost 2 friends to cancer 

Another acquaintance was hit by a train 

Lost my cousin to drugs at 26 

It sucks but life goes on i guess 

We lost a student of North Gwinnett to cancer several years ago. He had a rare form of bone cancer and died during his high school tenure. Our student section is now named "Cooper's Crew" in his honor and the flag and is planted in the field after every game. 

Just recently, we lost a football player at my school to brain cancer. He graduated last year and was a good football player and was on scholarship. He attended a game this past year and was an honorary captain. Little did I know, that was the last time I'd see him. He died in April.

[HSFBfan]

7 minutes ago, ngdawg said:

We lost a student of North Gwinnett to cancer several years ago. He had a rare form of bone cancer and died during his high school tenure. Our student section is now named "Cooper's Crew" in his honor and the flag and is planted in the field after every game. 

Just recently, we lost a football player at my school to brain cancer. He graduated last year and was a good football player and was on scholarship. He attended a game this past year and was an honorary captain. Little did I know, that was the last time I'd see him. He died in April.

U wanna hear something kinda crazy

My 2 friends I lost 

One was too bone marrow cancer

The other has brain cancer 

[HSFBfan]

13 minutes ago, DarterBlue said:

It's a pretty sad situation if the drug companies have a cure but will not release it for the sake of generating profits. It never used to be like that. Perhaps there is something wrong with the system?

Gotta stay profitable and as long as disease and such is there they will continue to make huge profits off of this

Which is why I agree with trump on going after big pharma and having drug prices cut 

[ngdawg]

Just now, HSFBfan said:

U wanna hear something kinda crazy

My 2 friends I lost 

One was too bone marrow cancer

The other has brain cancer 

Wow, what a coincidence. But not a good one. They're all in a better place now, out of pain. 

[HSFBfan]

Just now, ngdawg said:

Wow, what a coincidence. But not a good one. They're all in a better place now, out of pain. 

They both beat the cancer for years but in the end cancer took them and yeah it hurts too today. Good guys with great futures 

[DarterBlue]

56 minutes ago, ngdawg said:

We lost a student of North Gwinnett to cancer several years ago. He had a rare form of bone cancer and died during his high school tenure. Our student section is now named "Cooper's Crew" in his honor and the flag and is planted in the field after every game. 

Just recently, we lost a football player at my school to brain cancer. He graduated last year and was a good football player and was on scholarship. He attended a game this past year and was an honorary captain. Little did I know, that was the last time I'd see him. He died in April.

So sorry to hear of the above. As a senior citizen, I am grateful for the relatively long life I have had. But I grieve for the young who are taken too soon.