One of the most dangerous assignments ever is becoming the assistant to Charlie Sheen. Rick Calamaro did it for years and as a result got caught up in the partying and got hooked on drugs. Hey, just like Brooke Mueller. Charlie will get you hooked and then has no more use for you once you decide to try and get sober. Rick tried to get sober and part of that included not being Charlie's assistant anymore. He left when people started accusing him of supplying drugs to Charlie. Umm, that is because Charlie told him to go get them. Rick was trying to get sober but was having a tough time. His body was found in his apartment Sunday but he had been dead for a few days before he was discovered. I think that is my greatest fear. That I could be dead for days and no one cared enough about me that I would sit there dead for days or weeks before anyone thought to check on me.
This is such a cliche'. The guy at the center of the storm goes through his life with no harm every coming to him but leaves collateral damage everywhere. Watch Charlie live to 90 while few of his "associates" survive it.
ReplyDeleteThey'd smell you within a couple of days. Someone died in my building once. Two days later, you could smell it everywhere.
ReplyDeleteWas he still Charlie's assistant? Or former assistant?
Elizabeth - exactly. What blows my mind is that somehow America still supports him. I think people are detached from the situation so they just think it's funny like, "Oh that Charlie! Such a cad!"
ReplyDeleteI have a similar fear, Enty. Death is a part of life, and I can deal with that. But to be dead and have no one know I had died? Frightening.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me really sad.
ReplyDeleteWhat I really want to know is this - How did Charlie turn out so differently? Martin Sheen seems like an amazing loving man and father. The other kids seem like mature adults. Why can't Charlie grow up?
Every time I see him I think of that video with the English babies - "Ow! Charlie bit me. That hurts Charlie!"
I too, have the same fear, Enty (& Layna).
ReplyDeleteNot necessarily anita. My uncle was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head a week ago sunday, but the coroner estimates he was there for 10-12 days before the neighbors called the police. FWIW - we still have no death certificate because the injury and decomp are making a visual ID impossible, so we have to wait for a forensic ID to be made. Not as easily done as Bones and Booth lead us to believe
ReplyDeletewhy would it matter if you died and nobody came to check on you? you're dead. how would you even know? it would be much worse for the living that would have to smell you and clean your rotted body out of there.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of a guy in our town that killed himself. He shot himself in the head, and it was around a week before they found him. The cops had to wear masks to go in, because of the smell and bugs and maggots. He was an alcoholic with very few friends and no family in town. It was sad, and really gross all at the same time.
ReplyDeleteHow did Charlie turn out so different? I bet he has a major mental illness which is why he can't quit self medicating. I'm guessing he's at least got narcissistic personality disorder but maybe borderline or bipolar as well.
ReplyDeleteWhat bugs me is that Hollywood and America seems so all-forgiving for Charlie. I bet he has the goods on some people higher up--how else can he keep "winning"? He lost any "acting" talent he had years ago.
Ugh. I agree, Amber. I was just discussing this with my man last night. We're pretty big wrestling fans - not obseessive or anything - and last night we were watching Monday night Raw and they said that Charlie Sheen was going to be the "Social Network Commentator." Meaning that he will be tweeting about the show the whole time. I groaned and then said that's enough to make me not want to watch it.. He's a horrible person with little value. It angers me that he can be a total fuck-off and be rolling in money and we bust our asses every day just to get by.
ReplyDeleteI'm never going to watch anything with him in it. I don't want to support him or his lifestyle and I wish that the 5.5 million people that tuned in to the premier of his new show felt the same way and had tuned in for the season premiere of Louie instead. But, you know, who wants to watch a DECENT human being with actual talent?
Why would you worry about something after you die? You'd be dead. You wouldn't care.
ReplyDeleteMy aunt's ex-BF died earlier this year, and they didn't find his body for a while. The coroner said he had been died for at least four days. Flies swarmed out of his house, I'm told. I can't imagine.
ReplyDeleteKathryn: the idea of rotting away without a burial is bad enough, but having no one care enough to even check on me every other day is even worse.
*The Social Network Commentator for they're 1,000th episode on July 23rd, that is.
ReplyDeleteAnd obsessive and premiere, sheesh.
Their 1,00th! Good lord what is WRONG with me today?!
ReplyDelete1,000th. Someone please kick-start my brain. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteOh, Rickatoo - that's just awful. I'm so sorry to hear that.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that Rickatoo.
ReplyDeleteI'll clarify. I lived in an 10-story apartment building. A lady died (natural causes) on Wednesday in May (very nice weather) and by Saturday, the entire building reeked. She was on the 2nd or 3rd floor, I was on the 7th, that's how bad it was. It took about three days for the smell to go. Urinal cakes were put everywhere to mask the smell. To this day, if I pass a men's bathroom and smell that, I remember the dead body smell.
I still want to know, was he currently Charlie Sheen's assistant?
Thanks, surfer. The ID'ing part is what bothers me the most. I would like to be able to get him out of the medical examiner's office and put him to rest already.
ReplyDeleteThanks to you too anita. I wasn't doubting that people can tell in a few days, I was just adding that it can take much longer as well.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like he was no longer the assistant...
ReplyDelete"Rick tried to get sober and part of that included not being Charlie's assistant anymore. He left when people started accusing him of supplying drugs to Charlie."
That is so horrible, Rickatoo. I'm so sorry for you & your family.
ReplyDeleteEnty, know just how you feel. Been there, done that.
ReplyDeleteRE dead body smell. A friend of mine works for the local council & occasionally has to deal with this. Apparently the thing to do is find an artificial cinnamon scented product and use that, it's the opposite smell to death.
ReplyDeleteRickatoo - I thought when they have trouble IDing a body, they do so through dental records. Don't they know who is dentist was?
ReplyDeleteTo paraphrase Bridget Jones' Diary, "They'd find me alone in my flat, eaten by Alsatians...."
ReplyDeleteIt really depends on the method of death, the extent of decomp, etc. In my current situation, I have to bring in "Crime Scene Clean-up" due to bio-hazard conditions. Trust me, there are a million things to know that you never want to have to learn about with regard to this subject.
ReplyDeletesurfer - that is one of the preferred methods, but no, the only dental work he had was at least 20 years ago and no one knows who the dentist was. he was generally healthy and got by with medical advice from his close friend that is a retired physician. he's had no accidents, healed broken bones, tattoos, surgeries or anything else that can distinguish him from the average 61 year old hermit.
ReplyDeleteMy brother lived in a duplex and the man below him committed suicide during the day and no one found him for about 2 weeks. I'm not sure if it was during the summer or winter but apparently my dumb ass of a brother didn't find it unusual that he didn't see his neighbor or even hear him moving around for 2 weeks.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for your loss Rickatoo :(
Rickatoo - I am so sorry you're having to go through this. My thoughts are with you and your family.
ReplyDeleteThanks chopchop and rejectedcarebear. although he was in a community (in Florida!), my unc was a homebody, so his absence was also not noticeable until the neighbors noticed the flies & odor and called the police to do a "wellness check".
ReplyDeleteanita, I'm thinking if the air circulation system was linked in the building it would have spread the smell faster than in a closed system?
the biggest irony is that he was someone that kept his life so private, that now i have to try to unravel every little bit of it as i straighten out the mess he left behind... the same mess he killed himself to escape.
Did anyone notice he died on a Sunday and in the photo his shirt says "Sunday Funday"?
ReplyDelete@Rickatoo - so sorry for your loss and the hell it's putting your family through. My grandfather committed suicide, and it is a horrible thing for the family to process. Grief for the loss, confusion as to why, shame (although you shouldn't feel shame, but people will lay it on you). Hang in there.
ReplyDeleteAs for the dead body deal, wish I had a cool hubby cop story for y'all, but can't think of one offhand. I know that they'll send the most junior man in for a health and welfare check, so s/he can have the pleasure of their first db. Hubs found one in the sweltering summertime once that was bloated beyond recognition. Not one of his better memories.
It's surreal because as a cop in a major city, you see db's and actually witness people dying all the time. A very strange job, really.
The most recent one that he told me about, meaning that it bothered him enough to talk about it at home, was a 19 year old girl cut up into pieces and put in a duffel bag. Even old grizzly Ron Swanson was pretty freaked out by those photos. And yeah, they busted ass and caught the guys quick. Crazy drug (meth) scene senseless killing to "send a message".
Thanks discoflux and Frufra, sorry for your loss, too. As for your husband... I can't imagine being the one that has to open that door!
ReplyDeleteI'm in NY and unc is in FL, the police told me not to bother coming yet because there is nothing for me to try to identify, and I can't get in the house until it's cleaned, so I'm handling what I can from here in the meantime.
Enty. I'm sure MORE people would care about you to notice if you weren't about.
ReplyDeleteHow many of us notice the TIME you start posting and keep checking and checking and checking?
Charlie? I just want to know what his liver looks like. Plastination! I would gift card him!
I'm also sorry for your loss, Rickatoo. I lost an uncle to suicide myself last fall; he was my father's baby brother and he was staying with my father and he found him. It's such a brutal experience that's literally hard to believe. I wish for peace and strength for you and your family during this difficult time.
ReplyDeleteThank you AKM, I wish you the same.
ReplyDeleteRickatoo, I am very sorry. Not being able to make the ID must make so much harder.
ReplyDeleteAKM & Frufa, I'm sorry for your losses as well.
@dia
ReplyDeleteYeah, I always felt for Martin Sheen. He is such a good guy. So many good causes and with the same wife! I thought it was hilarious when Emilio got asked that by Craig Fergusson: "All of your siblings have the same mother?"
Marin Sheen is a good egg.
I just love that man! He has a sparkle to him. I loved the episode of him on "Who Do You Think You Are". There was a vet sweet moment with him and Emilio at the vineyard. I haven't seen the way yet but want to.
Delete@Rickapoor
ReplyDeleteSorry about your uncle.
@kathrynnova
I agree. If you're dead, you have no more fears. What happens to your body isn't your problem anymore. Let the living sort that out.
you should watch a docu-film called ''Dreams of a Life''. it's about a woman who dies and no one notice's for 3 years untill they repossessed her home. she had lots of family, friends and work colleagues.
ReplyDeleteI would feel bad about my cats though :(
ReplyDelete@daz
ReplyDeleteI saw that! It was sad, but so believable.
Henriette: Don't worry too much about your cats--after all, they'll have a nice big source of fresh meat just lying there...
ReplyDeleteOK, I'm being black-humored about this, but supposedly someone did research that showed dogs will wait at least a day before they start eating your dead body, whereas cats will only wait about an hour (some said 1/2 an hour). (This presumes, of course, that there's no other food in the house, as presumably they'd eat that first rather than go to the trouble of nomming on you; also, I don't think I want to know how they figured this out...)
Several years back, when my cat Delenn was still alive and my roommate had a cat named Lucy (Lucy's still alive & happy, don't worry), I was home sick w/some kind of upper respiratory ick that made me quite ill...I was trying to get some sleep when I woke up and found all 3 of the cats--Delenn, Lucy, and my Jezebel--lined up on the bed, watching me most intently. "What? Are you waiting for me to die so you can eat me?" I croaked at all of them.
Rickatoo, et al.: I'm very sorry. *hugs* The deceased may be past caring (and, one hopes, are in a better place and at peace), but they sure leave a mess--literal and metaphorical--for the living to deal with, and I'm sorry you've all had to deal/are dealing with it.
ReplyDeletetoo bad it wasnt charlie found dead
ReplyDeleteThis is what happens when you shit where you eat.
ReplyDeleteRobin - ha! I love that! Just, please, don't tell our cats about the research. I swear they only keep us alive to fill their food bowl. If they get wind of this option, our days may be numbered!
ReplyDelete@Robin
ReplyDeleteThat actually makes me feel better:) It puts me to good use in death. The circle of life if you will.
BTW everyone, thanks for letting me vent! I've only spoken to a few close friends about it, especially the more gory details.
ReplyDelete@Rickatoo -I am so sorry for your loss.
ReplyDeleteIn the height of my drug days, I lived in the Royan Hotel on the corner of Valencia and 15th street in San Fran's Mission district, and once the man across the hall from me passed on and wasn't found for a week. The place stunk but no one could figure out why. The sad thing is, on the same floor (the third), we had a year before another person pass on and again, no one noticed for a while. But you'd think we'd all remember the smell.
Either way, sad all around.
(I'm good sitting with people as they pass, and animals, but once that soul leaves the body, I can't be around what is left, the shell. Anyone else find that in themselves?)
Again, Rickatoo, my condolences. ~Many blessings
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ReplyDelete@Rickatoo - sorry for your loss and the mess he left behind. I sometimes think that's the hardest part.
ReplyDelete@Omama - yes and no. I can do both but depends on who it is. I also see spirits and find that the spirit can linger for awhile after it leaves the body. I just do what those around me need.
Robin - Thank you. Now I'm going to make sure my cat's bowl always has way too much food in it.
ReplyDeleteIn some Natives cultures it is forbidden to touch or look at a dead body. I come from a long line of people who see and can talk to spirits. My Grandfather would turn off his hearing aides and you would still see and hear him arguing with no one. I watch my Granddaughter (she's 2) and I have found her talking to no one a lot. Several times I have seen my Husband and Mother (both passed on) standing by her crib talking to her.
ReplyDeleteWe need to talk! I wish I came from a long line, but alas I am the first (or first willing to talk openly about it and use in my work)...
DeleteKudos to you!
*Kicks discoflux in the head like Randy Orton*
ReplyDeleteI wonder if that's why (what old ;ady said), as even though I was adopted at birth, my birthfather (whom I now know and adore) is of native descent.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your input dia papaya!!
I discovered I couldn't stand being around my dead pets corpses. I didn't want to touch them even though they were wrapped in a towel for burial in my backyard. I loved those animals dearly when they were alive, even when they were ill at the end and one cat was puking around the house all the time. But once they had been put to sleep, I didn't want to have anything to do with the body.
ReplyDeleteInteresting study on how long it takes pets to start consuming on their owners. Introducing Fancy Feasts newest flavour, Raw Human :(
An elderly lady in Sydney had been dead 8 years before someone found her.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for your loss and pain. Praying for you and your family, Rickatoo :(
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for your loss and pain. Praying for you and your family, Rickatoo :(
ReplyDelete@old lady
ReplyDeleteThere is one Native American tribe where the spouse tears the dead body of the dead spouse. He or she is left alone to grieve on a mountain, and it sounds horrific yet it is cathartic too. I want to say it's the Choctaw, but I can't remember.
My family and I see the dead too.
Moonmaid, I thought of the Bridget Jones quote too, about being found three weeks later, half-eaten by an Alsatian. :-(
ReplyDeleteAlso made me think of film "Dreams of a Life". I haven't seen it yet, but it's a documentary about a woman who went unnoticed for 3 years. (http://dreamsofalife.com/)
How do you go dead for 3 years and no-one notices? My bank would be calling, writing, etc to find out why I wasn't paying my mortgage and sending someone over before 3 years, I'm pretty sure of that. If I were renting someone would be paying the apartment a visit even sooner. My TV service would be cut off when I stopped paying. Maybe it's different in England but I can't see that happening to someone living in an urban type area in North America.
ReplyDelete@Black cat...I read of a man who that happened to not too long ago. And I think he was only found because after so many years, the county tax people came knocking.
ReplyDeleteSo I'd assume that everything else just got shut off, and his house was paid off. I know he had money b/c the article mentioned he had a teenage daughter who never knew him and she inherited the money that he left.
So yeah, it could happen as sad as that is. Oh, and I'm pretty sure he wasn't in the country (b/c I can still see the sort of house he was living in, more quasi urban, like detroit or something. Urban but not bustling).
One thing I have to say is, if you're going to commit suicide, don't do it where people who may care about you have to be the ones to find you.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure in my living situation, if I died unexpectedly I'd be stinking this place up before anybody found me--probable one of those "wellness checks" that doesn't turn out so well.
Rickatoo, sorry about what you've been through.
I have to admit, Robert, that I've found myself saying that "if he had to do this, he could have just taken a handful of pills and went to sleep or something." The juxtaposition of his unremarkable, quite life and his very extreme, violent choice of suicide options is very hard to wrap my head around.
ReplyDelete