Warren Zevon's Ex To Mine Grave For Tell-All Memoir, While I Cherish My Chance Meeting With A Music Legend - Page 3
We had the tremendous fortune of meeting Warren Zevon the summer before his death in July of 2002 at a blogger party in LA - undoubtedly the greatest party of my life. Warren, who was friends with the host, quietly appeared in the kitchen as we were going for more wine. I was awestruck. He and his friend, well-known music videographer Nigel Dick, we chatting as I stood there mouth agape.
After we were introduced, I rambled on and on about what huge fans my sister and I were of his music. I have no doubt in retrospect, that he was likely annoyed by my fawning, but flattered nonetheless. Fortunately my husband having met many a famous person was able to communicate like a normal person and I was able to finally just stand there quietly basking in the glory of meeting one of my heroes face to face.
It was only a couple of months after this meeting that Warren Zevon announced he had been diagnosed with cancer. Armed with this knowledge, I was flooded with a wave of embarrassment. What I took as a quiet reserve was in fact suppressed pain and likely a subconscious concern for his health. He would later confide that he had a tremendous phobia of doctors and waited far too long to see someone about lingering symptoms. Warren assumed that the tightness he felt in his chest was a result of a new rigorous workout he'd taken up, but deep down he must have sensed something more malignant was happening.
I must admit, I was starstruck. My early years as a young teen were filled with memories listening to my older sister's music collection and we both LOVED Warren's irreverent humor and rollicking licks. He was gracious and tolerant, but noticeably subdued and quiet. My enthusiasm in contrast to his reserve is something that haunts me even now, once we discovered how sick he truly felt. I am truly blessed to have met a hero before he left us — far too soon.
And, now his ex-wife is going to defile his memory with sensational claims that after 17 years of sobriety he once again, though certainly with reasonable cause, turned to alcohol and drugs to cope with the pain and his own looming mortality. From the article:
Crystal Zevon, who was married to the rock star from 1974 to 1979, admits her late husband's death was tough on the family because he turned his back on 17 years of sobriety in a bid to cope with the fact he was losing his cancer battle.
Zevon's ex-wife admits the book took her a long time to write because painful memories of her life with Zevon, who she says could be "cruel for cruelty's sake," made her consider quitting the project.
She tells the Los Angeles Times newspaper, "There were many times where I said, `I can't do this, I don't want to read another word, let alone put us all out for public consumption.'Then I'd run across some great line of the moment when a song trigger came to him, and I'd say, `The story has got to be told...' I fell in and out of love a lot of times."
I can't imagine revealing my husband's (or ex for that matter) final struggle to come to grips with his own death into a sensationalistic tell-all just for a quick buck. Shame on her. She easily could have written about the amazing things he did in his life and people would have enjoyed it all the more, but wherever there is cash to be made, there are people who are willing to do just about anything to get their hands on. Don't count on me buying it.
If I want to know more about Warren Zevon's life, I need look no further than his music.
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