Re: agree and disagree

["Schrade, Scott" <sschrade@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Re: John Entwistle

> Money does not buy happiness -

That's arguable. 

> seems to me that his band did not get a lot of press/recognition, or 
> profit when it toured (or recorded) - certainly compared to The Who - 
> got to be a frustration of a personal dream.

Or maybe......he *enjoyed* being on the road, even if it wasn't always a
profitable venture.  I don't know that Entwistle & his band(s) *ever* had
a profitable tour.  So, obviously he wasn't doing it for any huge fin-
ancial reward.  If he was only in it for the money, he would've quit his 
solo touring after the first one, in what, 1975?

He was earning something else when he ventured out with his solo band:
enjoyment.  And pride.  And practice of his craft.  Fan recognition.
Applause.  Autographs.  Good food.  Drink.  Camaraderie.  Sounds like a
fun fulfilling life to me.  What exactly was he supposed to be running
from?

> So, yeah, maybe he got to fish in the Caribbean, but not with a young 
> child, or a happy wife,...

That's *your* idea of a happy fishing trip (a metaphor for a happy life,
I guess) but why should it have been Entwistle's?  Aren't you imposing
what *you* feel a fulfilling life should entail onto someone else?  "Well,
he couldn't have been a happy man because he didn't live his life like
mine."  In today's society we call that kind of reasoning incorrect.  

> or with the independence that comes with leading a band and making the 
> decisions....

But that's not Entwistle, the person.  He's the quiet one, remember?  He
*chose* to not be the atypical "leader" of his solo bands.  He chose that
role.  It was more comfortable to him.  It wasn't any kind of failure.
Not some unsuccessful bid to try to "lead" a band because of some pseudo-
psychological need to break out of his role in The Who.  He liked touring.
He liked being the bass guitarist.  That's it.   
   
> How about aging - I'll bet you he didn't like being grey, developing 
> a gut, heart trouble, or all of those other things - 

So, all aging people are unhappy?  And lost?  It's not possible to be
in your late 50's & be content in life?  Is that what you're saying?

> and I bet it was getting a lot harder to pick up those young perfect 
> body girls for those on night stands on the road - hence the (possible) 
> need for professional company (although, money does clear the air of the 
> meaning and goals of the parties involved).

OX enjoyed sex.  So what.  Many humans engage in it for pleasure & forego 
all the guilt.  Unless you've been made to believe that you *should*
feel guilty about it.  I can see how that might look questionable to 
people who have to be told how to think.  And what to think.

> How about knowing that the best part of your career and talent are be-
> hind you? Facing 'retirement' age and not wanting to be there.

Sounds like *you're* the depressed one!  Not Entwistle!  How about knowing
that you were lucky enough in life to *have* a great career?  And that
you were lucky enough to *have* extraordinary talent?  Isn't it possible
that Entwistle could have gained contentment, pride, & happiness with 
*that* type of a mindset?  

I just don't see Entwistle as someone who's life revolved around the neg-
ative.  He didn't seem lost to me.  He didn't seem unfulfilled or incom-
plete.  Unless of course you've been told that people aren't complete un-
less they have a certain something in their lives.  If you've been told 
*that,* & you believe it, then I could see how you would think he wasn't a
happy person even though all the evidence leans toward the notion that he
*was* a happy person & *did* enjoy life.

> His life seems fun-filled to you (and many more...), but possibly not 
> to him.

Possibly, not to *you,* you mean.  In Entwistle's case, since he didn't 
give hardly any self-exploring interviews, all we have to go on is how he
lived his life & his overall demeanor.  I see him as someone who was hard-
working & had a wonderful sense of humor; someone who enjoyed playing bass
guitar for an audience; someone who enjoyed his fame & respected his fans;
someone who enjoyed fishing, laughing, drinking with friends, meeting his
fans, playing with his mates, & generally making the most out his time
here on this planet.  We should all be so unfulfilled.         

> It is always easier to dream of being in someone else's shoes....

True.  About as easy as imposing one's own life-views onto other people.
And then *judging* those people when their actions & way of life don't
conform to your own.  Very easy indeed.


- SCHRADE in Akron