I am deeply saddened to hear that Billy Mays was found dead in his home this morning. This is especially sad for me because I too am in sales and I always kind of liked his carnival barker approach to selling crap that I never knew I had to have. He was a master of getting millions of people to trust him at first glance while he's hocking his wares at an extreme decibel level on cable TV. Somehow this bearded sales aficionado gave a sense of credibility to everything he touched. I don't know how Oxi Clean works but I can't argue with its stain fighting power and I must have it! Even ESPN got in on the Mays bandwagon to pitch one of their websites which I thought was hilarious and the fact that he could poke fun at himself while doing it was even better. I mean really you have to hand it to the guy for being a true American success story. He even landed his own show recently that really showcased what an icon he had become for selling stuff on behalf of the small time inventor with a decent product and no way to market it. I like him so much I'm even thinking about being Billy Mays for Halloween! Now all we have left is the Shamwow guy who beats up hookers...downgrade. Love him or hate him he got your attention and his death comes in the same week that we lost Ed Mcmahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson. Now we're going to get 24 hour coverage of every autopsy and toxicology report that might lead investigators to believe that any one of these celebs had aspirin in their system that they are linking to them taking for a headache that might have lead to their demise. Let the media circus ensue...shoot me now! Who cares if they were taking drugs. They are constantly pursued by the press, even after death, and I'm sure that just like the rest of us they have problems that a few little pills help them cope with. At least this gives news organizations something else to talk about besides the economy for five minutes. Now we're left with every aspect of Jackson's life and death casting a shadow that is eclipsing everything else going on in the world at the moment. And I understand that it is very shocking and even fairly newsworthy but the part I find the most interesting is how people are fighting over his stuff. Sure its worth a lot of money but why do we put so much value in someone else's crap? I personally can't think of a single room in my place that a silver sequined glove in a glass case would look appropriate. Don't get me wrong I would love to be selling the aforementioned glove which is currently retailing for just shy of $400,000! But what the hell makes it worth that much to someone? Is it the thought that the famous person who owned that item left a little piece of themselves immortalized in spirit behind? And now it can be yours for 3 easy payments of $159,999.99. But wait that's not all, if you call now we'll also throw in the fabulous title of being an eccentric loony toon who shows off random artifacts to no one in particular that 30 years from now no one will even understand the significance of. Not even the great Billy Mays could sell that as a good idea. I also find it a little strange that we as a society put so much value in some one's autograph. Why does someone scribbling illegibly on anything make that item worth more. And then the second that they kick the bucket its value goes through the roof. Is this because never again will they be allowed to hold a pen that touched that fast food napkin you so hastily scrambled to come up with when you saw B-list celeb coming out of the rehab clinic. Now your friends will have to believe you! Am I the only one that thinks that is a weird memento to take away from a chance encounter with a star? Although I am a bit of a hypocrite because I would be happy to build a shrine for a Michael Jordan autographed jersey but that is beside the point. Isn't it funny how we the people build up celebs to be better than us, resent them for being larger than life, strive to grab a piece of their greatness, and then want to tear them down after their gone. Unfortunately that is human nature and I suppose only time will tell how we are going to remember these four individuals. R.I.P.
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