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Bruce Lanphear's avatar

Kevin: Thank you. I remember Zevon's song, Keep Me in Your Heart, but I didn't know he wrote it after being diagnosed with mesothelioma. I embedded Zevon's video in the post. Asbestos is pervasive.

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Abel, Sankar, & Wolf's avatar

Excellent, excellent post. Bruce, each piece is more powerful than the last. You may have been trained as a scientist, but you're also an excellent historian.

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Bob Wright's avatar

Speaking as a “Zevonophile” That album- enjoy every sandwich- has a wonderful Springsteen cover of My Ride’s here. Which blends Religion, Westerns, and Hotel Chains with metaphors for the meaning of life and the desire to have a little more time on earth. Zevon’s original version is brilliant as well.

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Bruce Lanphear's avatar

I wasn’t a Zevon fan—until you and Kevin turned me on to his music. I’ve been really enjoying it. Thanks for the great recommendations.

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Kevin Osterhoudt's avatar

Bruce - thanks for the poignant lesson in history, consumerism, and toxicology. In the Philadelphia region we have some "asbestos pile" Superfund sites to give us a stark legacy reminder of asbestos. I enjoy a certain age of American singer-songwriters, and your post reminded me of the lyricism of Warren Zevon. Warren died of mesothelioma in 2003 and many of his later songs had themes of decaying health. He reminded us to "enjoy every sandwich."

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