Showbits

I recently confused someone when I used the word "clothesline" as a verb. I had to explain its wrestling etymology and how my knowledge of such came from a youth spent watching Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Junkyard Dog, and more.

I was surprised today to come across another name I hadn't thought of in a long time: Bam Bam Bigelow, who died yesterday at the age of 45. [Read his obituary]

His cause of death is yet undetermined, but I imagine the stress athletes' bodies endure — both from the nature of their profession, and from less scrupulous means of achieving an advantage — causes many such performers to be old before their time.

I've only ever attended one live wrestling event, and I found the commentary and close-ups provided by at-home television viewing to offer a superior experience. In that medium, wrestling can be very entertaining and dramatic, more so than daily soap operas, though still less refined and more predictable than some dramas.  I enjoyed the alliances, rivalries, and betrayals that wrestling portrayed in a physical, non-metaphorical fashion even my developing mind could grasp (even if some of them now constitute the annals of wrestling shame). Thanks, Bam Bam, for being a part of it.