When I checked my email last Tuesday morning, I had the standard assortment of spam and one very interesting message from the Evil Queen.
Subject: Did you see??
Ray Davies! Shot in the leg!!
I had not seen! I replied that I had just woken up but would certainly check it out. The time stamp on her message read 2:30 AM. She works the third shift, so I assumed that she found this out during her workday, and emailed me right away with the freshest Ray Davies news available.
I was wrong. I mean, I am sure she notified me as soon as she found out, but the news was not fresh. It had happened over the weekend. So why didn't we hear about it on Monday? Oh, that's right. On Monday all of the news stories were busy talking about Britney Spears and her brief Las Vegas wedding.
By the time I was ready to look for Ray Davies news, it was Tuesday afternoon. I checked one or two news outlets before I finally found one that had the article. Ray Davies is fifty-nine years old, and got himself shot in the leg while chasing a couple of guys who had stolen his girlfriend's purse. How great is that? So great!
But I had to dig to find the story. Granted, if his injury had been more severe he probably would have gotten more press, but come on. Ray Davies is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! He is a rock and roll pioneer and a legend and he is not getting the proper coverage because a nitwit (former) child star did something stupid. I know that I defended Miss Spears when she got caught smoking almost two years ago, but that is because I felt sorry for her. The behavior she has exhibited since then gets no sympathy from me.
She is still marginally talented (at best) and I wish she would just go away. Or at least make room in the papers for the real talents. Ray Davies got shot on Sunday. The music news on Monday was all about Britney. By Tuesday the columnists of the world had mobilized, and were using the short-lived marriage as a springboard to a variety of different topics. That is fine, except for the fact that the columns caused the Britney furor to spill into Tuesday, effectively burying the Ray Davies news permanently. Why is he not being treated with the respect he deserves?
By the time LCG arrived to pick me up from work on Tuesday night, I was frustrated.
Me: Did you hear about Ray Davies?
There was a brief pause and I could hear him mentally shuffling through all of the music news he had read that day.
LCG: Ummmm....shot in the leg.....chasing a purse snatcher. Right?
(Instant relief.)
Me: Thank you! Heh-heh. I bet he thought nothing of chasing those guys. All those years of fighting onstage with his brother paid off.
He's Ray Davies and he isn't taking any crap! Of course, he isn't getting any credit either. I imagine that some writers would rave on about his bravery, while others might choose to point out that it is kind of stupid to chase a mugger. But these debates in the press will never actually happen because he's just a musician with a long and distinguished career. His story will be instantly forgotten because he is not young and stupid and hasn't kissed Madonna recently. Well, as far as we know.