Tom Petty: It was an "accidental" OD

At Petty’s age (same as mine), I assumed he was, like so many of us (though not me), just a pothead. But he had hurt his hip either just before or just as the tour was starting, and didn’t want to cancel. It was viewed as his Farewell Tour, and he decided to soldier on with the pain, using the opioids to get through it. It doesn’t take long to develop a nasty little habit. At least, that's what I've heard ;-).

When is an overdose not accidental?

When folks are ready to say "check please".

I have watched many folks leave this spinning blue sphere, and some are more adapt at dealing with the suffering that comes towards the end then others are.

My father passed away 4 months after being diagnosed with cancer, and several of my sisters whined that he didn't even 'try to fight it'. My mother took 10 years of battling emphysema before she finally passed away.
In the end, they both wound up in the same place.

Each person should have the right to end their own suffering, should they desire. I often wonder why we humans are more 'humane' to animals than we are to our own kind, as we allow animals to simply slip off to sleep when their lives become miserable, yet Kevorkian was a monster? HA!

Personally, when the time comes for me, as it does for us all, I would hope to have the chance to set up a final listening session, settle down with a nice bottle of Blanton's single barrel bourbon and some pain/sleeping pills, and just transition quickly and peacefully.

Watching my mother battle so hard for so long made me realize that was not the way that I would want to go out. Years of pain and agony is no way to "live". Yet with the advancements in medical science, we can keep many zombies 'alive' these days. To each their own.

@dgarretson makes an interesting argument about the physical lifestyle of rock stars. Though that makes me wonder how Mick is feeling these days, as someone who has been VERY active for over 50 years of that lifestyle.

Every time another one of these rockers fade away, I always find myself wondering how the hell Keith Richards is still alive???!!!

Yes, Jmc and bdp24, everyone is touched by tragedy in one way or another. I watched my sister pass from pancreatic cancer, it was the most inhumane thing I have ever experienced and I think about it everyday.

"I Did it My Way" might happen more often than we know.