Tom Petty: It was an "accidental" OD

Petty never did much antics on stage if any at all. Blame the rockstar lifestyle if you will and a combination of issues with aging. Nevertheless it is tragic. I have seen him live many times and the last time with the Hypnotic Eye tour a few years ago - he did not look well at all at that time. Such a great talent and passion for song writing. His songs spoke to so many perhaps his single greatest talent was a profound insight into the human spirit and joy/pain of living.

"rockstar lifestyle"...I rarely see a rock star who isn’t skinny.

I want, no, need to believe TP had issues that are common to us all. It may be just their access, means, lifestyle that separate us all.

I'm very sad about Tom Petty. I'm also sad about the state of pain and addiction management in our country.

Prince had to reach outside of the state he lived in to get addiction care. It's quite likely he had inadequate pain management as well. As far as I can tell, he mixed pain meds with counterfeit drugs which had Fentanyl instead of what he thought was in them.

I won't judge Petty, but I will say that if well to do, not isolated, well liked people like Petty and Prince could run into problems with pain management, addiction and overall prescription management then imagine how difficult this might be for everyone else.

My point is just, I wish everyone in the US had better health care and on-demand access to excellent pain/prescription and addition management and I fear we are far from that.

Best,

E

At Petty’s age (same as mine), I assumed he was, like so many of us (though not me), just a pothead. But he had hurt his hip either just before or just as the tour was starting, and didn’t want to cancel. It was viewed as his Farewell Tour, and he decided to soldier on with the pain, using the opioids to get through it. It doesn’t take long to develop a nasty little habit. At least, that's what I've heard ;-).

When is an overdose not accidental?

When folks are ready to say "check please".

I have watched many folks leave this spinning blue sphere, and some are more adapt at dealing with the suffering that comes towards the end then others are.

My father passed away 4 months after being diagnosed with cancer, and several of my sisters whined that he didn't even 'try to fight it'. My mother took 10 years of battling emphysema before she finally passed away.
In the end, they both wound up in the same place.

Each person should have the right to end their own suffering, should they desire. I often wonder why we humans are more 'humane' to animals than we are to our own kind, as we allow animals to simply slip off to sleep when their lives become miserable, yet Kevorkian was a monster? HA!

Personally, when the time comes for me, as it does for us all, I would hope to have the chance to set up a final listening session, settle down with a nice bottle of Blanton's single barrel bourbon and some pain/sleeping pills, and just transition quickly and peacefully.

Watching my mother battle so hard for so long made me realize that was not the way that I would want to go out. Years of pain and agony is no way to "live". Yet with the advancements in medical science, we can keep many zombies 'alive' these days. To each their own.

@dgarretson makes an interesting argument about the physical lifestyle of rock stars. Though that makes me wonder how Mick is feeling these days, as someone who has been VERY active for over 50 years of that lifestyle.

Every time another one of these rockers fade away, I always find myself wondering how the hell Keith Richards is still alive???!!!