Stats allow us to take inspiration from wherever we can glean it
A Different View with Dave O’Connell
The King of Scandi-Noir Jo Nesbø has an incidental line in Knife, his latest Harry Hole thriller, where his main man is sparking up a ciggie. “With every cigarette, God takes an hour off your life . . . and he gives it to Keith Richards.”
Because, in the way that we will always find the evidence to support our argument – no matter how ridiculous – we can hold up the pickled Rolling Stone member as an example of how a ridiculously unhealthy life needn’t necessarily be a short one.
Even when all of the odds are stacked in the other direction, and every shred of evidence ever produced by entire world of medicine would laugh that notion out the door, you take your fig leaf of comfort where you find it.
In the cold light of day, if Keith Richards is your role model for healthy living, we can assume that Jeff Bezos is your touchstone for making ends meet on a tight budget. And Donald Trump is your guiding light when it comes to respect for all races and women.
But all you really want to do is to drill a hole in the argument of the self-righteous that the secret to long life lies in protein drinks and muesli; you point to the rock and roll man who has consumed more through his nose than his mouth and you smugly smile.
And what we all know deep down is that if you were given a choice of a night on the raz with Keef or some new-age, clean living guru who liquidises their own kale smoothies, you know without hesitation which option is for you.
All of the Stones – with the obvious exception of Brian Jones – have defied the odds on longevity, but none more so than Keith, who hasn’t pulled back one inch from the edge for most of his 75 years.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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