The entertainment world mourns

HS

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 09-12-03 AT 08:48AM (CST)[/font][p]Such sad news to wake up to today: music great Johnny Cash passed away yesterday as well as the comedic actor John Ritter.

I still remember going to see Johnny Cash when I was little at Waterloo Village, even got to meet him and get his autograph. Never met John Ritter, but have long enjoyed his comedy.

cebudragonlady

I was sorry to hear that John Ritter passed away suddenly. It is kind of scary, an unknown heart defect with no prior sympthoms.

Chari

Rockie

Very sad. I didn't feel Johnny Cash was long for this world as he recently lost his reason for living - his wife and coupled with his poor health, it was not a surprise. But John Ritter! Could not hardly believe it.

From working at a cardiology practice, I can tell you that often the first symptom of a cardiology problem is a fatal heart attack. One of our employee's 38 year old husband had a massive heart attack a couple of weeks ago and if he had been doing anything other than sitting at a desk, he would have died. A 17 year old high school student in one of our local high schools dropped dead on Monday during a pick up basketball game because of a coronary birth defect.
So...you never know...get those screening tests and take care of yourself the best way you can....and live each day!

Leslie

It sure makes you think - like the DJ was saying this morning, you just don't walk into a hospital at 9:30 and die at 10.

sonny

And only 54..funny I pay more attention to age now that I am 50

ray a

John Ritter was such a young looking and acting 54 years old. That makes it seem that much harder. You never know when latent heart disease will strike. Heart problems tend to run in my family and at age 50 I've decided it is time to take my health seriously. I have a son who was diagnosed with ventricular septal defect, hole in the heart, at 4 weeks. I'll never forget the day the doctor told us that he could be gone just like that at any time. We could wake up in the morning and he'd be gone. It was hard going to sleep at night for the longest time. He is now 22 and healthy, otherwise. When he graduated from HS, his class did a video montage with parents dubbing in stuff about the kids. Unbeknownst to me, my wife added something about our twins. She commented about Tim's heart problem and how we almost lost him when a baby. Wow, it was extremely hard to control the emotions when I listened to that. Sorry for the rambling, but events like this tend to bring back memories and make me realize how fleeting life really is.

Don D

Johnny Cash was one of those guys, country music outlaws we call them, whose life had been saved by a new woman. Since he hooked up with June Carter Cash, he had reformed his behavior, stopped the wild life, whiskey and drugs. Sadly, in the 40 years before he met her, he had put 400,000 miles on himself in a short period of time. Her death a few months back was devastating to him and he literally, as Rockie said, lost his reason to live. Her funeral was on television. When I saw the family wheel him down the aisle in a wheelchair, right up to her casket, he suddenly looked 100 and I imagined that we would not make it much longer. Whether or not you like or hate country music, his was truly a story of a young man gone bad, gone good. He was as close to Southern Gospel music as Elvis Presley and has just joined June Carter in what some of us call 'The Heavenly Choir'. God bless his soul and may he now rest in peace. As one particular song moans, "That Silver Eagle screamin' through the night....Who's gonna fill their shoes?"

scottorr

This is a sad day. Both of these stars brought many people happiness and laughter. They will be greatly missed.