I wrote several poignant points in my last editorial, assuming that none of them would attract much controversy. BOY – WAS I WRONG.
The issue that bothered MOST people was about how I denigrated Whitney Houston’s Funeral and associated accolades.
Some people said that I was over-the-top. Some intimated that I was a racist because she was Black. Some even suggested that I was disrespectful to God because she had a “wonderful” funeral.
Several of the letters I received told me where to get-off, just before the letter-writers removed themselves from the Galganov Directory.
But, for every person who was pissed and/or removed himself or herself from the Directory, several MORE people added themselves to it.
MORE THAN THAT . . . some of the people who read the editorial actually sent money through PayPal to support Galganov.com, while several others wrote to tell me that their check will be in the mail.
And that says a lot, considering how little financial support this Blog gets considering the number of visitors who read it.
All in all . . . I’m substantially ahead.
SO . . . LET ME ADD A LITTLE GASOLINE ONTO THE FIRE:
If you had a son who came home all excited to tell you that he had a gorgeous new girlfriend who was extraordinarily talented, but she was an alcoholic and a serious drug addict. What would you say to him?
What about a daughter who wanted to tell you about her new best friend, who was a drug addict and an alcoholic? What would you say to her?
Or how about a teacher or social worker who was a drunk and a user? Would you want her in a position of authority and influence with you or anyone in your family?
What about anyone else who is a drunk and a doper, who at one time was at the top of his or her game which includes a very long list of entertainers, athletes, some business people, academics and others?
THIS WEB SITE IS NOT ABOUT PERFUME AND ROSES:
I am absolutely fed-up with the SPECIAL treatment given to people who have been BLESSED – Let me say it again . . . BLESSED to have become stinking rich just because they could sing and/or dance, act, hit a baseball, dunk a basketball, throw or catch a football, or any of the other USELESS stuff they get paid obscene amounts of money to PLAY at.
I received emails telling me how callous I was to these POOR people who are afflicted with a DISEASE, and instead of jumping all over them, I should feel pity and understanding for them.
Sorry folks . . . But that’s not the way it works for me.
I have good friends who are recovering alcoholics who made every effort to be clean, and make a Herculean effort every day of their lives to stay clean. And not one of them blamed anyone else for their addiction.
No one forced Whitney Houston to pour BOOZE down her throat. Or tied her to a chair to inject her with JUNK. Or blew COKE up her nose. She did all of that willingly.
Houston, like every other addict makes a FREE-WILL decision at one point in his or her life to walk on the wrong path. She – And she alone was responsible for taking that wrong-way walk.
Here’s one that might really piss-off my detractors – I WILL NOT BE FRIENDS WITH, ASSOCIATE WITH, OR HIRE ANYONE WHO IS AN ADDICT.
I know people who’ve lost everything by taking drugs who then turned their lives around for the better, by biting the bullet to go straight. For these people I have GREAT admiration, because I personally know how hard it is to shake an addiction.
AND I KNOW FROM WHAT I WRITE.
I’ve never been addicted to booze, because I hardly drink. I smoked grass and hash twice in my life when I was in my late teens, and liked both experiences so much, that I decided to never do it again, lest I run the risk of becoming mentally addicted like so many of my friends were during that era.
I was never addicted to gambling, even though I used to play penny-ante poker as a kid, and traveled to Vegas several times as an adult. Today, mostly on moral grounds, I won’t even buy a lotto ticket.
BUT I TOO WAS AN ADDICT – I SMOKED CIGARETTES, CIGARS AND A PIPE:
I smoked more than a pack of cigarettes a day since I was twelve years old. And when I quit smoking cigarettes when I was eighteen, I took up smoking a pipe, about a pound of tobacco a month, which I inhaled just like I did cigarettes.
I was hooked – And not just by a little bit.
I had to have a smoke first thing in the morning and the last thing at night. I HAD to have a smoke after each meal. And if I forgot a pipe at home while driving to a business meeting, I would go home to get it, even if it meant being late to the meeting. And I HATE being late.
So . . . I know something about being addicted.
A science professor friend of mine told me that tobacco addiction is one of the hardest addictions to shake, since it is both mental and physical.
But I decided NOT to be addicted. I decided that no one is responsible for me being hooked on smoke and nicotine but myself, so, one Saturday morning more than 25 years ago; I filled and packed my biggest pipe, smoked it down to nothing while reading the Saturday morning newspaper, left the empty pipe in the ashtray, and NEVER took another puff.
Stopping was so hard, that for the first week I didn’t tell anyone, not even Anne. And when I finally did, I wasn’t sure that I would make it. So I took it one day at a time as I went through a FIVE year withdrawal period.
So . . . For Governor Chris Christie, the Media and the hordes of fans to give this fallen Drunk/Addict a HEROES send off is nothing short of being a travesty.
HERE ARE THE REAL HEROES WHO ARE DESERVING OF ACCOLADES:
Anyone who chooses to serve his or her country in the military is my hero.
The guy or gal who gets up early in the morning to go and do a hard day’s work in a minimum or near minimum wage job, so that he or she can keep a roof over his or her head, to put food on the table, and give their kids a decent upbringing are my heroes.
The entrepreneur who puts it all on the table to build a business from scratch, who works twelve hours a day seven days a week. And the business owner who sacrifices everything to keep his doors open and his people employed are my heroes.
Plumbers, electricians, carpenters, mechanics and construction workers; all of whom provide services in rain, shine or freezing weather to keep the infrastructure from falling apart are my heroes.
Cops, firefighters and EMS workers who run head first into harm’s way are my heroes.
The secretary, office assistant, sales person and administrator are my heroes.
Teachers who teach to make this a better world are my heroes.
Mom-pop owner/operators of convenience stores and street vendors are my heroes.
Nurses, orderlies and other healthcare providers are my heroes.
Farmers and farm workers who grow the food that keeps us fed and alive are my heroes.
These are the REAL people who make REAL contributions to society every day, doing it for low wages and long hours, who don’t earn MILLIONS of dollars just for singing a few songs or belting a ball over the fence.
These are the folks EVERYTHING within our society depends upon, who save their nickels and dimes to carry the likes of Whitney Houston to the heights of indescribable privilege, who squander it all on self-destructive behavior.
Folks like Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and others of this make-believe world shouldn’t be pitied or honored. They should be shown for who they really are . . . failed human beings worthy of derision.
LET’S GET REAL:
We’ve lived in the land of reality TV, dishonest media and Make Believe for far too long.
Best Regards . . . Howard Galganov
One Comment
Well Said. Their ignorance of your valor in defense of freedom is disgraceful. Both have lost their way.
Tom Kelly
Naples, Fla. USA
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