Stumble It!
What They’re Not Saying About Art Buchwald’s Impending Death
Many of you may be following the quirky approach that humorist Art Buchwald is taking to his own impending death, giving interviews and holding court in a Washington hospice. The apex of his life’s quotable quotes being: “The question is not, Why must we die? but rather, What are we doing here
in the first place?” (He also said, “Dying is easy; parking is impossible”)
Leave it to Art to teach us how to die with humor and grace! Still, I’m a little annoyed with the media coverage here. Like Luther Vandross before him, the man is dying of the effects of diabetes, and nobody’s talking about it.
The articles all mention kidney disease and leg amputation, which tipped me off immediately that diabetes was at work. But I could only confirm this by scouring the blogoshpere. As far as I can tell, none of the major MSM (mainstream media) print publications are using the D-word in their coverage of Buchwald’s plight. Wassup?! Wouldn’t this be an ideal platform for reminding people about the serious consequences of this disease?
The media is very clear on the epidemic proportions of diabetes, and the value of awareness in preventing and containing it. But I guess that was yesterday’s news. I guess mixing diabetes information with Buchwald’s upbeat outlook on death might spoil the story (?) Just makes me mad. People should know that the killer combination of stroke, kidney failure, and leg amputation don’t come out of the blue. As dLife likes to say, “Don’t guess, test!”
Explore posts in the same categories: D-News Examined
Amy, I was at a dinner party recently and one of the guests had just come back from spending time with Art at a hospice in the DC area.
She said that he was in good spirits, and that his mood had actually improved after moving in.
Not once did she mention his having diabetes. No, she is not in the media, but I think the omission still goes to your point about awareness.
Posted by: Johnboy | April 14th, 2006 at 4:43 amThe Washington Post is covering this pretty impressively. They mentioned that he’d had DM.
Posted by: Star Firstbaseman | April 14th, 2006 at 8:03 amHey Star,
Posted by: AmyT | April 15th, 2006 at 4:31 pmWould you send me the link? So far I’ve found 5 WP stories on Buchwald’s demise, but not one of them contains the word “diabetes.”
Links to Buchwald/diabetes at
Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1744523,00.html
“He had outlived his wife. He had survived a stroke in 2000, and he had had his right leg amputated below the knee because of complications from diabetes.”
and LA Times:
Posted by: Bill | April 16th, 2006 at 6:57 amhttp://www.latimes.com/news/columnists/la-et-numartinez24mar24,1,3349606.column?coll=la-news-columns
“Last month, he had a leg amputated below the knee as a result of poor circulation caused by diabetes, which was also contributing to renal failure. But he still manages a column now and then for the Post.”
Good, Bill. I guess nobody told USA Today and the others. Also it seems awfully “buried,” if you’ll excuse the association.
Posted by: AmyT | April 16th, 2006 at 12:33 pmI suggest you contact A.B. to ask if he’ll grant you an interview. In person or by telephone–your choice.
Posted by: Nick | April 18th, 2006 at 6:47 amHi-I am new to the list.I have recently been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes…I am still in denial.I had major surgery for a large fybroid tumor last June and NOBODY noticed that my blood sugar was high.But I will continue to remain faithful.Only God can turn this thing around.
Posted by: patricia4336 | May 3rd, 2006 at 5:41 amI had no clue that Luther V. had diabetes,although I should have noticed something when he lost all of that weight..he looked so sick.I wish everyone on this list a very healthy life,and I will be praying for all of you.
I had no idea Luther Vandross had diabetes! I didn’t put two and two together on Buchwald, either.
Posted by: Kim | May 3rd, 2006 at 7:34 pm