Cry Me A River: A Special Tribute
Cry Me A River……I absolutely hate that song. It's by Justin Timberlake, a pretty-boy loser who has no talent. But one day, the title caught my full attention. I want to cry a river...make the river full of life, exuberant, and spirit-filled. Even if it was possible to cry and make a river, it would not be a river I would want. My tears, and those of others, could not make this certain River full of life, exuberant, and spirit-filled ever again, no matter how many tears we shed. This River is too special to bring back, we can only have a River like him once, and we already did. Tears won't bring him back, and neither will his remains, his ashes. What can be brought back to life by its ashes? A Phoenix. But this is the only Phoenix that cannot be reborn from his ashes. No matter how much of his ashes we have and put together, this Phoenix won't come back to us. So, what River can't be brought back to life again by tears and what Phoenix can't be reborn through his own ashes? A River that used to sparkle and shine so brightly, and a Phoenix that used to soar so high among the clouds with his own healing powers. Put it together, and the results are powerful, joyous, and melancholy. Put it together, and the emotions of ones who cared will race. Put it together, and you have River Jude Phoenix. A man everyone showed respect for. A man with integrity. A man who followed through everything he wanted with a striking passion. A man who had raw, precious talent and used it very well. Some, most actually, haven't heard of him, and I look at those people and think, Oh, have you been missing out!, with a smile on my face. But he's more than "good stuff". To some, he was a tragic hero. He barely made it through life when he was younger, only having love, happiness, and the best support he could get from his family. But he did make it, and from there, things sky-rocketed. What makes him a tragic hero was that he struggled for his and his family's survival, made it and did so much, but then suddenly made himself disappear. And this was no second rate act. He made himself disappear piece by piece in a small time frame until it became too much, perhaps too overwhelming, but no one knows for sure why. How did he do this? A simple but deadly drug-overdose did the job. The drugs he used were like a dark magician, and he was the lovely and innocent, but sensitive assistant. Why did he take those awful things? He had such a great life, why? Was the publicity too much for this Oregon-born young man? Were their problems throughout his life he couldn't handle? Did Hollywood yet again corrupt a young, sensitive, brave, and compassionate man and his amazing imagination? The answers aren't clear, and no answer will ever be clear. Nobody knows why, and nobody means for these things to happen. How such a wonderful person could escape Earth's fingertips so easily, I'll never know. But it shows how unexpected life can be. Anything could change with one, quick action from a single person. River Jude Phoenix died on October 31st, 1993 at the heart-breaking young age of twenty three. I was only two at the time. This boy barely begun to live. Although he starred in movies and T.V. series and sang with amazing talent, he did much more than other actors and singers do today. He was a vegan; he was against the destruction of animals for almost, if not all, means. He donated large amounts of money to a wide variety of charities and he played and sang for free to earn money for different occasions. He might have looked like a snotty, worthless brat to someone, but he was far from it. He understood what the world really needed, and he kept telling us, but we wouldn't listen, so he moved on. What does the world really need? I don't know. I yearn to know and tell the whole world, but I can't, although maybe later in life, I'll get my chance. This was the best I could do, what I wanted to do, to talk about my feelings for a great young man who had to leave us. How do I know these things about him? What's my role in all of this? I know these things about him because, even though he has passed on, they shine through him. From his movies, from every simple but pleasurable note he hit with his voice: it was just a feeling that I developed. I just knew that this person had to be a plus for the world. It's depressing, but tears won't fill the greatest and deepest River. What will bring the River and the Phoenix back to a full, happy life? All of him? Nothing will. But some of him could shine through other people. I know that he taught me great lessons. I had been taught some of these lessons before, but somehow, it makes it better to get it from someone like him. Be yourself. Stand up and say what you believe in. Please the ones who matter. Live and learn. Things aren't always what they seem to be. Don't do drugs. Do you want more from me? Do you want me to tell you more? I can't. This is when you go out and search for what you want with your absolute best effort. Just like the great River Phoenix himself.