Tuesday, June 30, 2009

The Bag O' Salsa

With all of the recent publicity surrounding the death of Michael Jackson several others have been overshadowed. It seems like a bad time to be famous as of late. David Carradine apparently died from some kind of s&m gone wrong. Ed McMahon died of old age, Farrah Fawcett lost her battle with cancer, and perhaps most poignant to me, Billy Mays died suddenly from a heart attack. I have spent a lot of time over the years making fun of the bearded pitchman. Only recently have I grown to truly respect him and what he has done for so many. When the show Pitchmen came on a couple of months ago on Discovery channel I tuned in for a good laugh. What I found was an insight into Billy's incredible talent.
Love him or hate him, Billy forced you to pay attention. I never really considered that when Billy Mays promotes a product it's because he truly believed in it and the designer. So many have come forth recently to share their stories of how Billy changed their life. Struggling inventors and businessmen who never would have made it if not for Billy Mays. Many reading this will think I'm silly. I agree that I am. However, for whatever reason Billy's death has affected me. I will not mourn the death of the King Of Pop though I will listen to my old albums. I will not be searching for Charlies Angels, Star Search, or Kung Fu episodes on YouTube. I will, however, give a little more respect to the commercials during my favorite shows. Although, the ShamWow guy deserves to be made fun of. He's a douche.