Saturday, August 20, 2005

My New York - Death at Penn Station

Death happens. No, there wasn't a terrorist attack at Penn Station last Thursday at 3pm. But some of the hurried masses must have at least stopped and wondered about (maybe helped) the young man lying on the floor. Unfortunately, according to a message I got on an e-mail list, the young man didn't make out of the famed train station alive:
Rod was a bodybuilder, model, tattoo enthusiast. He was a friend to some (a lot), and idol to most, and in general a spectacular human being. Rod passed away Thursday afternoon in NYC. According to his good friend Wayne, Rod had a major heart attack about 3pm...collapsing in Penn Station in NYC. Rod's heart had only been functioning at about 30% due to a previous illness. Here's to you Rod. We will miss your extraordinary presence. You were spectacular, and one of life's truly nice guys. We grieve the loss of you.
Now I didn't know Rod (whatever his real name was) or even knew he had been in some flicks. But if a porn star collapses and dies at Penn Station it must be some sort of news, no? You wonder who he was, what was his life like, where he came from, how many men (and women?) were his fans.

Not to belittle his passing but it does bring us to the final episode of Six Feet Under on HBO on Sunday night. Rod and Six Feet Under, RIP.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Death of a heart attack at a young age, where could have we heard of that before? Mere speculation? Maybe - but sometimes the issues have to be raised. As for the 'previous illness' I'll let others speculate.

A loss of life is tragic and my heart goes out to his friends and relatives but steroid abuse is rampant in certain gay men's circles and, if in fact there was steroid abuse here, maybe this could serve as a cautionary tale - particularly in light of all those "fans."