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Two years later


Charlotte7598
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So it's been just barely under two years since Neil's death, anyone else still feeling the impact? New to the forum btw, hi ������������

I'm new to the forum today too. My post count is working backwards though which is very weird.

 

Once you hit 100100 posts you become "The Body Electric" and you start going backwards in time. Like Mork And Mindy's baby. Like Benjamin Button..............

Aye!

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It still astonishes me that they all managed to not only keep his illness a secret all that time, but then his death for a few days too.

 

It's pretty amazing how they did it. If people found out and he started getting all that attention, he probably would have died even sooner from the stress, knowing how reserved he is. From what I understand, the fact that he survived 3 and a half years with glioblastoma is pretty remarkable. People die pretty quickly from it.

 

You're absolutely right. Death by cancer is hard & I hate thinking about it. I'll leave it at that.

 

As time goes by I feel more happiness that Neil Peart got to live a full, incredible life sharing his skill and intellect with the world. He lived his dreams, good for him. Death comes for us all, but how many of us truly get to LIVE?

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Neil never had to deal with the world the way it is now. That's the one silver lining in all this. Because the more intelligent you are (as Neil was fiercely intelligent), the harder it is to deal with the world's stupidity.

I agree, Neil would have not suffered the collective idiocy we are living with very well. Been re-reading Roadshow with Drums and he lets the population of a certain state have it, I had forgotten that part. Glad that he didn't have to watch the world fall apart so fast.

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And, perhaps...

 

He clearly showed his strength at everything and anything thrown his way.

He wrote very openly about his musings and philosophies about life and love and hardship.

I would put a dime on Neil that he would, maybe, might, finally have another great reason to write another book.

He wrote so much about the human experience, about divisiveness, finding a kernel of truth in a muck of society, I bet his best seller would have been tastefully "prosed" that "covid can go f*ck itself".

And inside the front jacket would be a long explanation how he got permission from Dr. Fauci and peer reviewed vaccine studies, to write another album (because that's what he did) - forget Clockwork Angels...maybe "Living In A World Of Masks: To Know The Face You Can't See, Fist Bump The One You Love, and other stories of another modern pandemic".

 

One wonders?

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Neil never had to deal with the world the way it is now. That's the one silver lining in all this. Because the more intelligent you are (as Neil was fiercely intelligent), the harder it is to deal with the world's stupidity.

I agree, Neil would have not suffered the collective idiocy we are living with very well. Been re-reading Roadshow with Drums and he lets the population of a certain state have it, I had forgotten that part. Glad that he didn't have to watch the world fall apart so fast.

Which state was it if you don't mind?

I'm reading Ghost Rider for the first time and boy he doesn't hold back in his distaste for Vegas.

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Neil never had to deal with the world the way it is now. That's the one silver lining in all this. Because the more intelligent you are (as Neil was fiercely intelligent), the harder it is to deal with the world's stupidity.

I agree, Neil would have not suffered the collective idiocy we are living with very well. Been re-reading Roadshow with Drums and he lets the population of a certain state have it, I had forgotten that part. Glad that he didn't have to watch the world fall apart so fast.

Which state was it if you don't mind?

I'm reading Ghost Rider for the first time and boy he doesn't hold back in his distaste for Vegas.

 

Florida.

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Neil never had to deal with the world the way it is now. That's the one silver lining in all this. Because the more intelligent you are (as Neil was fiercely intelligent), the harder it is to deal with the world's stupidity.

I agree, Neil would have not suffered the collective idiocy we are living with very well. Been re-reading Roadshow with Drums and he lets the population of a certain state have it, I had forgotten that part. Glad that he didn't have to watch the world fall apart so fast.

Which state was it if you don't mind?

I'm reading Ghost Rider for the first time and boy he doesn't hold back in his distaste for Vegas.

 

Florida.

 

He's careful to give a nod of approval to a lot of folks, but lets a lot of the others have it with both barrels. First hand stories of their touring from the old days all the way up to Alex getting the crap beat out of him.

Edited by lerxt1990
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Neil never had to deal with the world the way it is now. That's the one silver lining in all this. Because the more intelligent you are (as Neil was fiercely intelligent), the harder it is to deal with the world's stupidity.

I agree, Neil would have not suffered the collective idiocy we are living with very well. Been re-reading Roadshow with Drums and he lets the population of a certain state have it, I had forgotten that part. Glad that he didn't have to watch the world fall apart so fast.

Which state was it if you don't mind?

I'm reading Ghost Rider for the first time and boy he doesn't hold back in his distaste for Vegas.

 

Roadshow is very good too if you haven't read it.

 

I also happen to love the Masked Rider.

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Neil never had to deal with the world the way it is now. That's the one silver lining in all this. Because the more intelligent you are (as Neil was fiercely intelligent), the harder it is to deal with the world's stupidity.

I agree, Neil would have not suffered the collective idiocy we are living with very well. Been re-reading Roadshow with Drums and he lets the population of a certain state have it, I had forgotten that part. Glad that he didn't have to watch the world fall apart so fast.

Which state was it if you don't mind?

I'm reading Ghost Rider for the first time and boy he doesn't hold back in his distaste for Vegas.

 

Roadshow is very good too if you haven't read it.

 

I also happen to love the Masked Rider.

I love Roadshow, enjoyed Traveling Music and survived Ghost Rider. I tried to read Far and Wide right after he died but the pictures of him and Olivia made me cry. Going to try it again after I finish Roadshow.

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Neil never had to deal with the world the way it is now. That's the one silver lining in all this. Because the more intelligent you are (as Neil was fiercely intelligent), the harder it is to deal with the world's stupidity.

I agree, Neil would have not suffered the collective idiocy we are living with very well. Been re-reading Roadshow with Drums and he lets the population of a certain state have it, I had forgotten that part. Glad that he didn't have to watch the world fall apart so fast.

Which state was it if you don't mind?

I'm reading Ghost Rider for the first time and boy he doesn't hold back in his distaste for Vegas.

 

Florida.

 

He's careful to give a nod of approval to a lot of folks, but lets a lot of the others have it with both barrels. First hand stories of their touring from the old days all the way up to Alex getting the crap beat out of him.

Yeah it is kinda scary how spot on he was, the state of Florida has been a hot mess for ages.

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Neil never had to deal with the world the way it is now. That's the one silver lining in all this. Because the more intelligent you are (as Neil was fiercely intelligent), the harder it is to deal with the world's stupidity.

I agree, Neil would have not suffered the collective idiocy we are living with very well. Been re-reading Roadshow with Drums and he lets the population of a certain state have it, I had forgotten that part. Glad that he didn't have to watch the world fall apart so fast.

Which state was it if you don't mind?

I'm reading Ghost Rider for the first time and boy he doesn't hold back in his distaste for Vegas.

 

Florida.

 

He's careful to give a nod of approval to a lot of folks, but lets a lot of the others have it with both barrels. First hand stories of their touring from the old days all the way up to Alex getting the crap beat out of him.

 

Alex got the crap beat out of him?? I'd like to have a word with whoever did that.

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Neil never had to deal with the world the way it is now. That's the one silver lining in all this. Because the more intelligent you are (as Neil was fiercely intelligent), the harder it is to deal with the world's stupidity.

I agree, Neil would have not suffered the collective idiocy we are living with very well. Been re-reading Roadshow with Drums and he lets the population of a certain state have it, I had forgotten that part. Glad that he didn't have to watch the world fall apart so fast.

Which state was it if you don't mind?

I'm reading Ghost Rider for the first time and boy he doesn't hold back in his distaste for Vegas.

 

Florida.

 

He's careful to give a nod of approval to a lot of folks, but lets a lot of the others have it with both barrels. First hand stories of their touring from the old days all the way up to Alex getting the crap beat out of him.

 

Alex got the crap beat out of him?? I'd like to have a word with whoever did that.

 

Are you aware of the story with him and the Police in FL? New Years Eve one year at a party. He was arrested and scuffled w police after they responded ot the hotel saying they were being unruly. It wound being being felonies that dropped to misdemeanors but had he been convicted of a felony that would have made touring and the business of Rush come to a screeching halt.

Edited by lerxt1990
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Neil never had to deal with the world the way it is now. That's the one silver lining in all this. Because the more intelligent you are (as Neil was fiercely intelligent), the harder it is to deal with the world's stupidity.

I agree, Neil would have not suffered the collective idiocy we are living with very well. Been re-reading Roadshow with Drums and he lets the population of a certain state have it, I had forgotten that part. Glad that he didn't have to watch the world fall apart so fast.

Which state was it if you don't mind?

I'm reading Ghost Rider for the first time and boy he doesn't hold back in his distaste for Vegas.

 

Florida.

 

He's careful to give a nod of approval to a lot of folks, but lets a lot of the others have it with both barrels. First hand stories of their touring from the old days all the way up to Alex getting the crap beat out of him.

 

Alex got the crap beat out of him?? I'd like to have a word with whoever did that.

 

Are you aware of the story with him and the Police in FL? New Years Eve one year at a party. He was arrested and scuffled w police after they responded to the hotel saying they were being unruly. It wound being being felonies that dropped to misdemeanors but had he been convicted of a felony that would have made touring and the business of Rush come to a screeching halt.

 

Alex's brat kid jumped onto some stage and wouldn't get off. Cops were called, and Alex tried to intervene/help out. The cops took offense.

 

Did the brat kid ever take responsibility for the entire debacle?

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Neil never had to deal with the world the way it is now. That's the one silver lining in all this. Because the more intelligent you are (as Neil was fiercely intelligent), the harder it is to deal with the world's stupidity.

I agree, Neil would have not suffered the collective idiocy we are living with very well. Been re-reading Roadshow with Drums and he lets the population of a certain state have it, I had forgotten that part. Glad that he didn't have to watch the world fall apart so fast.

Which state was it if you don't mind?

I'm reading Ghost Rider for the first time and boy he doesn't hold back in his distaste for Vegas.

 

Florida.

 

He's careful to give a nod of approval to a lot of folks, but lets a lot of the others have it with both barrels. First hand stories of their touring from the old days all the way up to Alex getting the crap beat out of him.

 

Alex got the crap beat out of him?? I'd like to have a word with whoever did that.

 

Are you aware of the story with him and the Police in FL? New Years Eve one year at a party. He was arrested and scuffled w police after they responded to the hotel saying they were being unruly. It wound being being felonies that dropped to misdemeanors but had he been convicted of a felony that would have made touring and the business of Rush come to a screeching halt.

 

Alex's brat kid jumped onto some stage and wouldn't get off. Cops were called, and Alex tried to intervene/help out. The cops took offense.

 

Did the brat kid ever take responsibility for the entire debacle?

 

In a sense he did he got some penalty.

 

The cops were found not guilty of anything, but the hotel was reprimanded in some way for calling the cops saying they were "trashing the place" and telling them it was worse than it was.. I forget the details. To be fair had they just calmed down none of this would have happened.

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The cops were found not guilty of anything, but the hotel was reprimanded in some way for calling the cops saying they were "trashing the place" and telling them it was worse than it was.. I forget the details. To be fair had they just calmed down none of this would have happened.

 

We all know that cops should never be blamed for anything.... ;) ;)

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The impact of NEP’s death hit me when I first heard of his death. When my daughter called me on my way to work at night, I literally drove off the road into a small ditch. I was in a haze of disbelief that night.

 

Now I’m long past that now, I smile now knowing I spent so much time, money, energy chasing the band up and down the east coast fifty times seeing them live since 84’. I now am going way back to b4 2112 listening to that catalog of their music that I need to get more familiar. It’s been a wonderful wild ride loving this band, that a lot of my friends can’t stand. However, they give much respect to Neil Peart because he’s the GOAT and a modern day warrior of the drum world.

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The impact of NEP’s death hit me when I first heard of his death. When my daughter called me on my way to work at night, I literally drove off the road into a small ditch. I was in a haze of disbelief that night.

 

Now I’m long past that now, I smile now knowing I spent so much time, money, energy chasing the band up and down the east coast fifty times seeing them live since 84’. I now am going way back to b4 2112 listening to that catalog of their music that I need to get more familiar. It’s been a wonderful wild ride loving this band, that a lot of my friends can’t stand. However, they give much respect to Neil Peart because he’s the GOAT and a modern day warrior of the drum world.

 

Fifty times, you rock!!

I sometimes still wonder at the "reaction" to the news.

For me it had a lot to do with the fact they were quiet for a while, Geddy touring his BBBB, not much news, the End sinking in, some interviews.

Then the announcement of Neil's passing was like a double shot: What?!! And...No Wonder! Holy Sh*t...they're actually DONE. No more Rush, no more debate.

 

I was outside of myself in that moment of hearing the news on the radio. Long story already told, but I was in an auto-pilot mode for a while.

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The impact of NEP’s death hit me when I first heard of his death. When my daughter called me on my way to work at night, I literally drove off the road into a small ditch. I was in a haze of disbelief that night.

 

Now I’m long past that now, I smile now knowing I spent so much time, money, energy chasing the band up and down the east coast fifty times seeing them live since 84’. I now am going way back to b4 2112 listening to that catalog of their music that I need to get more familiar. It’s been a wonderful wild ride loving this band, that a lot of my friends can’t stand. However, they give much respect to Neil Peart because he’s the GOAT and a modern day warrior of the drum world.

 

Fifty times, you rock!!

I sometimes still wonder at the "reaction" to the news.

For me it had a lot to do with the fact they were quiet for a while, Geddy touring his BBBB, not much news, the End sinking in, some interviews.

Then the announcement of Neil's passing was like a double shot: What?!! And...No Wonder! Holy Sh*t...they're actually DONE. No more Rush, no more debate.

 

I was outside of myself in that moment of hearing the news on the radio. Long story already told, but I was in an auto-pilot mode for a while.

 

Well my plan was that it was going to be 53, Tampa, Atlanta, Greensboro (stay with ex in-laws) then my finale back to my former home in Md. There I was going to take my daughter for her birthday. The show was actually in Bristow Va where I always would see them when I lived up that way. However a family emergency came up and I had to cancel those three.

 

I knew or I felt this was going to be their last tour together. On my lonely 5 hour drive back from Tampa to West Palm Beach I had to pull over 1 o’clock in the morning balling like a baby then crash at some motel. That’s because I knew that show was going to be my very, very last time I was to see my favorite rock band of nearly 300+ concerts. Most of them was working security at the Hampton Coliseum in VA, the busiest concert venue on the east coast and through a international musician friend I’ve followed all over this country and in Europe.

 

I’ve settled down now, only a few concerts per year except when my friend and his band comes down to South Florida. I’ll follow him for 6-10 dates. Back to Rush, over the years they were always the one band I would look forward to see…..what new lighting they’d have or the set list etc etc. Big sigh, all good things sometimes MUST come to an end and it most certainly did for my favorite band.

 

peace

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To be honest, I didn’t think about it on January 7th this year. I was in the middle of reading a Rush bio book, so I was immersed more in their days of feverish activity.

 

Aside from that, though- just to offer some more of my own perspective (once again, if I haven’t talked about this enough times on this forum!)…my older brother who introduced me to Rush was killed 35 years ago. He was my biggest role model. And the very first new Rush that album I bought on my own, without it being a hand me down from my brother, was Hold Your Fire- the very first lyrics on that album being “Tough times demand tough talk, demand tough hearts, demand tough songs”…Neil, the reason that my deceased brother started playing the drums (and my brother being the reason that I started playing the drums myself)…Neil was always there with the perfect prescient word, the perfect shared thought.

 

My sister, my soulmate, died in late 2008. And I had not had Rush on my radar for quite a few years, at that point. Since Test for Echo, in which I was somewhat disappointed at the time. But I came back into the Rush fold after reading about the then-upcoming Time Machine tour…and the first album I bought, of all the things I’d missed since Vapor Trails, was Snakes and Arrows Live. Great song selection, and a healthy dose of what was their newest album right then. And when I heard, for the first time, “All my life, I’ve been workin’ them angels- overtime”…good god, I wept like a baby. But it was a ‘good cry’, as they say. After my family tragedies and reflecting on my recovery from alcoholism (I got clean and sober in the late ‘90s, after nearly killing myself little bits at a time with drink and drugs for about a dozen years)…once again, Neil’s lyric was right on point. And since I had been out of the Rush loop for so long, it came across to me as absolutely prescient. Yes, I had been workin’ them angels, and I still am today.

 

Now I’m getting closer and closer to 50 (although I feel about 20 years younger than that), and both of my parents are in ill health. I don’t think it’ll be terribly long, for them.

 

So…this is just what happens. No, 67 is not a long enough life, for sure. And especially considering what had happened in Neil’s personal life, he deserved be healthy and relax or do whatever else he wanted to do with these years that the rest of us are still living now.

 

Considering Neil’s relationship, or lack of it, with Rush fans- even still, at this point, I don’t think he would want any of us looking back and feeling sad. Look back and feel heartened by what Rush’s music, and the many individual talents of each of its members, does for all of us.

 

Every day we get is a gift. And this life is what we make of it.

 

This band rocks me to my core. (Yes, rocks- present tense, not past). But I think the music is only one part of the legacy they left, the mark they made and continue to make on new generations of fans.

 

I read on here recently someone said they thought in 200-300 years, people will still be talking about Rush.

 

And all I can say to that is right on…right on.

 

 

:rose:

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Neil never had to deal with the world the way it is now. That's the one silver lining in all this. Because the more intelligent you are (as Neil was fiercely intelligent), the harder it is to deal with the world's stupidity.

I agree, Neil would have not suffered the collective idiocy we are living with very well. Been re-reading Roadshow with Drums and he lets the population of a certain state have it, I had forgotten that part. Glad that he didn't have to watch the world fall apart so fast.

Which state was it if you don't mind?

I'm reading Ghost Rider for the first time and boy he doesn't hold back in his distaste for Vegas.

 

Florida.

 

He's careful to give a nod of approval to a lot of folks, but lets a lot of the others have it with both barrels. First hand stories of their touring from the old days all the way up to Alex getting the crap beat out of him.

 

Alex got the crap beat out of him?? I'd like to have a word with whoever did that.

 

Are you aware of the story with him and the Police in FL? New Years Eve one year at a party. He was arrested and scuffled w police after they responded to the hotel saying they were being unruly. It wound being being felonies that dropped to misdemeanors but had he been convicted of a felony that would have made touring and the business of Rush come to a screeching halt.

 

Alex's brat kid jumped onto some stage and wouldn't get off. Cops were called, and Alex tried to intervene/help out. The cops took offense.

 

Did the brat kid ever take responsibility for the entire debacle?

 

In a sense he did he got some penalty.

 

The cops were found not guilty of anything, but the hotel was reprimanded in some way for calling the cops saying they were "trashing the place" and telling them it was worse than it was.. I forget the details. To be fair had they just calmed down none of this would have happened.

Of course the cops weren't held accountable, this happened in Florida so they are pretty rough and don't give a damn about repercussions. The hotel staff were very overzealous and called security immediately rather than letting Alex get his son off the stage. I mean, his son gets up to say something on the mic to his girlfriend (yeah kinda dumb) and the security people come in like gang busters and make a scene themselves. Then they wait until they are out of sight of the hotel security cameras and proceed to beat them in a stairwell. Then threaten felony charges, l bet Alex's attorneys handed them their hats. Wonder if Alex sold the winter home he had just bought there right before this went down. I know some real nice folks who live in Florida but you couldn't get me to go there. Neil had plenty to say about the people he encountered on his motorcycle trips so this was just more of the same.

Edited by Rhyta
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Well said, Josh!

 

(But I still get sad thinking about NEP leaving too soon)

 

I will say, with the hindsight I have now, the two years that it’s been- thinking about all of the positive they gave us…and the fact that Neil stopped playing the drums while he was still in top form- his death so soon after all of that does make it all more bittersweet and poignant.

 

I watch the solos he was doing during the Clockwork Angels and R40 tours, and think about how vibrant and strong he was, all the way up to the end of Rush.

 

What an incredible life.

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First post on The Rush Forum. Yes, I still hurt each time I remember Neil is gone. Partly it is the punctuation mark on Rush, partly it is immense sadness for a human that faced so much heartache in his own life. I know some of it is personal grief coming from my own experience of my mother dying just as she was about to retire and focus her life on her grandchildren. It seemed so unfair to watch someone work so hard and go through so much misery getting to her 60s and then die (of brain cancer, the same kind as Neil) just as she was about to retire to a nice family life. So I still get somber when I think of the beautiful person that was Neil and how hard he worked to reach a point where he could just rest and spend time with his wife and child, but it was not to be. As others have noted, he wrote The Garden and understood this as well as anyone.
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First post on The Rush Forum. Yes, I still hurt each time I remember Neil is gone. Partly it is the punctuation mark on Rush, partly it is immense sadness for a human that faced so much heartache in his own life. I know some of it is personal grief coming from my own experience of my mother dying just as she was about to retire and focus her life on her grandchildren. It seemed so unfair to watch someone work so hard and go through so much misery getting to her 60s and then die (of brain cancer, the same kind as Neil) just as she was about to retire to a nice family life. So I still get somber when I think of the beautiful person that was Neil and how hard he worked to reach a point where he could just rest and spend time with his wife and child, but it was not to be. As others have noted, he wrote The Garden and understood this as well as anyone.

welcome

 

:rush:

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