Believe It Or Not, Ice-T Has Great Advice To Live By

Every once in a while, I come across a story and for reasons I cannot explain, I decided to click on it and read.  And then, I'm glad I did.  I know that sounds weird, but follow me.  I'm not a huge Ice-T fan.  Nothing against him, just gangsta rap isn't my jam.  Also, he's spent the last 23 years as an actor on a show I've never really watched, "Law & Order:  SVU."  So, when I click on a story about Ice-T, it makes ZERO sense.  That being said, I'm so glad I did.

This weekend I've got one of the toughest speaking engagements one can have.  I'm honor to have been asked to speak at the funeral of a dear friend's family member.  This person left us FAR too early in life.  Rule of thumb when it comes to funerals/memorial services:  the younger the person being eulogized, the harder it is to bring peace to his/her loved ones with your words.  Consequently, I've been struggling with what I might and should say.  Which brings me back to Ice-T.

Ice just had a BIG month.  He turned 65, performed at the Grammys, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  Life couldn't get much better.  However, just two days after he was celebrating in the streets of Hollywood, he learned his dear friend and longtime costar on "SVU," Richard Belzer had died suddenly at age 78.  "After that great week, coming off the star ceremony, I partied with all my friends in L.A. — 'Ice, you brought a star back to the hood!' — it was a great night," he recalls. "Woke up, Belzer passed away. And it just crushed me." 

It's what Ice-T said next that has resonated with me.  And it should with you too.  "I did a quote after that, and I said, 'Whenever you're having a good time, really enjoy it. Don't feel guilty about partying, having that moment, because pain is guaranteed. It's sad but true," he continues. "The pain of life is inevitable. We're going to lose people. People are going to be sick. Happiness is rare. I'm happy right now, but I'm talking about that moment where you're just happy, enjoy that to death, because the pain is coming. Suck those moments up." 

I've got the week to work on what I'm going to say at the service on Sunday.  And now, I have a good place to start.

To me, death has never been taboo. It's something a lot of us think about but never speak on. Death is a topic some people prefer not to discuss, but we cannot escape it. Nobody has ever managed to escape it.

People die every single day, which isn't a fun thing to talk about. That's why we have to live every day as if it were our last. According to the CDC, the average age of death in North Carolina is 78.1 years old as of 2019.

It may not be pleasant, but it is a part of life. I think you will enjoy this list if you are a morbid person, just like me. The following is a list of North Carolina's leading causes of death. All 2020 data are final. 2020 birth data come from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) via CDC WONDER; 2020 death data, including leading causes of death, firearm mortality, homicide, drug overdose mortality, and infant mortality, come from the NVSS via CDC WONDER and rankings and rates are based on 2020 age-adjusted death rates. You can see more on deaths in North Carolina here. Check out the list and see what the number one cause of death in North Carolina is. Take care, my friends.

Protect yourself and you can see more on Influenza/Pneumonia in North Carolina here.

You can see more on kidney-related deaths here.

You can see more on diabetes here.

This disease is such an awful thing. I cry every time since my significant other lost his grandmother to this disease. You can see more on Alzheimer's in North Carolina and the death rate here.

These are deaths from various lung diseases including asthma, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema. You can see more on chronic lower respiratory diseases here.

You can see more on stroke-related deaths here.

You can see more on accidental deaths here.

You can see more on how to protect yourself against COVID-19 in North Carolina here.

My mother actually passed away from her battle with cancer. You can see more about cancer in North Carolina here.

Heart disease, a common cause of death in North Carolina, is caused by the narrowing of blood vessels in the heart, a condition linked with high blood pressure and cholesterol. Heart disease can be treated by improving your diet, exercising, and understanding your risk factors. You can see more on heart disease deaths in North Carolina here.