Death and taxes are the 2 things we all know are coming for us all (even certain politicians). None of us know when our final moments will come, but we hope for that time to be long away.
Drug users don't really fit into that category. The nature of what they are addicted to shortens their lives, and limits the quality of the life they do get to have. Sadly Corey Haim was an example of how short life can become and how wasted the opportunities become.
I don't mean to pick on Haim. But perhaps in his death a lesson to others can be found.
Haim was on a fast track to stardom in his youth. He was well known, a teen heartthrob. He was in popular and good films. His acting abilities were solid and growing. He had a path wide open for his future. And then he became addicted to drugs.
Ultimately the drug addiction took his life. But along the way it destroyed his career, taking him from making movies like Lost Boys, to Snowboard Academy, to being without work and bankrupt. The drugs also strained, let's be honest it broke friendships and business relationships.
But when he was able to steer clear of the drugs, the talent and inner Haim won back many friends. He was able to get work again, in major movies like Crank: High Voltage and The Pick Up (to be relesaed in 2010), because people wanted to help him. But the addiction never let him go. It finally killed him today, along with his chance at a comeback and to the dismay of friends.
Right now there are tens of thousands, maybe millions listening to a rap song glorifying drugs. There are countless movies and music videos promoting drug use as "normal" or "harmless". There are movements across the country trying to get some or all drugs to be legalized. In each case the effects of drugs on people like Haim, Amy Winehouse, and millions of regular people are glossed over.
Corey Haim didn't win any Oscars. He was not the greatest actor ever. But he might have been, we will never know now. He died at 38, an age far to young for anyone to end their life at. He leaves behind a legacy that includes several very good films, the television show The 2 Corey's which gave a glimpse at the difficulties drugs create and his attempt at redemption, and friends.
He has also left us a sad reminder that life is too precious to throw away with drugs.
My condolences to his family and friends.
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