[Thorzdad]

Jimmy Buffet passed away yesterday. He was 76.

[ghporter]

I’m one. Not “formally” or anything - is there such a thing as a “formal” JB fan? I’m really bummed.

My first exposure to Jimmy was in a scene in the movie FM, where he performs “Livingston Saturday Night.” I saw the film while stationed at Keesler AFB, in Biloxi, MS. And a while later I first heard “Margaritaville,” and it seemed that he’d written the song about the touristy vibes around Biloxi Beach. He hadn’t; it was a synthesis of lots of tourist places, and he had been introduced to margaritas in Austin, TX (I think I know the restaurant, too).

Over time, his kind of un-serious and fun oriented songs got me listening for his work. Then I heard some of his serious stuff, like “Death of an Unpopular Poet,” and “He Went to Paris,” and that got me started collecting his stuff.

We had tickets for his concert scheduled for here in San Antonio in 2020, but the stupid virus nixed that, dammit.

A good part of my adult life has been spent in the same environment that Jimmy grew up in and explored before he became known, like the Alabama and Mississippi Gulf Coasts, Western Florida and Eastern Louisiana. I took classes in Pascagoula, MS, where he was born, I got my first BS from the University of Southern Mississippi, where Jimmy got his History degree. And there’s even a connection to Austin, which I consider my second home town; it was Jerry Jeff Walker, one of the Texas Country Outlaw artists, who got Jimmy to Key West after a Miami gig fell through.

I didn’t really know much about Jimmy the first time I went to Key West, but I “got it” about the vibe there. Yes, it’s a tourist Mecca, and yes, it’s pretty much about enjoying oneself to excess - a lot like the French Quarter in New Orleans. And my wife and I have a long history in the Quarter, so that vibe was very obvious. But the French Quarter is real, solid and almost a “regular place”. Not Key West. Not at all.

Jimmy’s long history of writing and singing about all sorts of things has been for me a combination of escapism and introspection. Yes, “it’s 5 o’clock somewhere”, but also it’s important to do more than just exist. LIVE, enjoy, go for new experiences, challenge yourself and push the envelope on your comfort zone. Don’t take life too seriously, since nobody gets out of it alive, but live seriously, unreservedly and with gusto. To quote Jimmy, “I’d rather die while I’m living, than live while I’m dead.”

I’m sorry I never got to see him in person, but Jimmy Buffet taught me so much about living fully and well that I almost feel he was a mentor. He was certainly a hero for me, and the world is lesser for his passing. It’s not that “the world is smaller” for his loss, but “there’s just less in it,” to quote Captain Jack. That’s how I feel.

[Thorzdad]

My just-turned-30 daughter-in-law is a huge Buffett fan. She been to several shows. She’s pretty bummed.

Per TMZ, he was diagnosed four years ago with skin cancer and that was the cause of death.

[ghporter]

I wouldn’t be surprised. Sailing, beaches, LOTS of outdoor concert venues…. It’s one of the larger dangers of loving the outdoors.

Interestingly, Bob Marley died from “a real lentiginous melanoma,” a particularly aggressive skin cancer. He opted against having his big toe amputated, which (probably) would have cured him, and the cancer spread and killed him.

[ghporter]

Apparently it was merkel cell carcinoma. This is a fairly rare, very aggressive cancer, that Jimmy had been fighting for about four years.

Damn, like I didn’t hate cancer enough already…