Breitbart and Gandolfini... and Me

Sometimes things that happen to other people can have a big effect on you.  These are things that make you look at yourself and realize that it could have been you – and still could be.  There have been two such events in the past year or so that have given me reason to pause and look at myself differently.

The first was the death of Andrew Breitbart in March of last year.  Breitbart was a sharp, determined and fearless conservative activist who went after liberal hypocrites and liars like few others.  He became a master of the “new media” that the political left had been using so well, and he taught a new wave of young conservatives to do the same. 

He was loved by those on the right and feared or hated by most on the left. He was merciless in his attacks on liberalism, but he almost always did it with a sense of humor and without getting personal about it.  In fact, a number of those on the opposite side – at the time of his death – said that they actually liked him as a person, even if they despised him politically.

I admired Andrew Breitbart, but what really got to me was the fact that he died of a massive heart attack at the young age of 43.  He had gone out for an evening walk, and when he got home, he collapsed and died. 

Breitbart was overweight, and prior to his death he had a history of high blood pressure and cardiovascular problems.

The second event was the death, last week, of the actor James Gandolfini.  Just in case you are one of the 15 people on the planet who do not know, Gandolfini rose to fame playing the character of Mafia boss Tony Soprano on the American television series, “The Sopranos.” 

I admired Gandolfini as an actor (and I rarely have much good to say about actors).  And from what I have read, he was a good man who was the polar opposite of his Mafia character.  But what got to me about Gandolfini last week was the fact that he died of a massive heart attack… at the young age of 51.

Gandolfini was overweight, and prior to his death he had a history of high blood pressure and cardiovascular problems.

We tend to think of heart attacks as happening mainly to old guys who have been letting themselves go for almost all their lives.  But these were NOT old men.  They were still young and active, and they should have had a few more decades ahead of them.  

These were two good men who still had a lot to offer to the world.  But their deaths prove that sudden heart attacks can happen to anyone, anytime, if they don’t take proper care of themselves.

Both of these events have affected me because I am overweight and have a history of high blood pressure and cardiovascular problems. 

I am definitely at risk.  For too many years I have just tried to ignore it, pretend it is not real, that it won’t “get” me.  But the rising tide of little chest pains, the reduced energy level and the recent slowness in my step tell me otherwise.

So, what do I do about it?  And perhaps even more to the point, what can I do about it in a country with substandard medical care?  More than anything, I need to change.  I have been thinking a lot lately about change, but this has taken my thinking in a new direction, perhaps given it some increased urgency.

But change is hard.  Only time will tell if I can really change enough to make a difference.  And I worry that perhaps I have already waited too long and done too much damage to rectify the problem.  But I have to try.

I am not ready to follow Breitbart and Gandolfini.