The Dominant Life Form on Planet Earth
Andy died a few days ago in his hotel room, in Dallas, Texas - after withdrawing from a surfing contest. He was trying to return home. He had contracted what was thought to be Dengue fever.
His life serves as a reminder to those of us who are all about excellence. His surfing was nonpareil. He was one of the greats, and he will truly be missed.
But his death serves as an even more solemn reminder that viral forms of life dominate this planet, and are constantly mutating. Andy was born in 1978. His mother, and father - as human beings - took 28 years to change their DNA code and produce great surfer. That is the time between our generations. The Virus that killed him took ten weeks and it produces a new generation every few days. They are parasitic - feeding on the host organism by inserting their DNA into our own - and using us as a means to reproduce themselves. Andy died, in all likelihood, because the DNA that the virus that produced Dengue Fever - spliced into his DNA and used it in a way that combined uniquely to produce a set of metabolic circumstances that led to Andy's death.
Dengue, also known as 'breakbone fever' - because of its sometimes incredible pain - causes fluid loss and a severe drop in blood pressure. A study was done , recently - which took the blood pressure of men and women who were preparing to be US Special forces. They found that their hearts did not respond the same way as normal hearts respond - to danger, and stress. Andy was likely the same. Nobody knows, at time of writing - how or why Andy died. My idea is that the fever hit him hard, and he either suffered a stroke or a sudden heart attack as a result of the rapid change in his blood pressure. The severe retro-orbital pain, (a pain from behind the eyes that is distinctive to Dengue infections), gastritis , abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting coffee-grounds-like congealed blood - seem to say that maybe the dominant form of life on planet earth doesn't need us around.
As we discover more about Cancer, and learn of its origin in retrovirus - as well as newly discovered links to - Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, HIV, Prostate Cancer, and Leukemia - we find a widening body of evidence that leads to the conclusion that the common retrovirus tends to make mistakes - and wipe out its host organism. These diseases are a reminder that the retrovirus mutated into several deadly forms, many of which can easily kill their host. The smartest retrovirus would create a long standing, low grade fever. Doesn't it seem like one of those 'colds you just can't shake off'... comes around ?
He died, Nov. 2, 2010. At time of writing, his wife was seven months pregnant with his firstborn son. Peace.
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