Re "[Jim] was an alcoholic/drug addict and he died of it.":
The puzzling question is why? Most people "lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them". We dream of having it all - critical and popular acclaim; devoted, attractive lovers; money no problem; . . . Alas we don't make the grade - but we do cling to the dream. And, after all, we just *might* win the lottery; have cosmetic surgery; discover our own genius . . . Could it be the case that people who *do* make it discover that it's not what it's cracked up to be and so is not fulfilling? They realise with crystal-clear clarity that we've all been hoodwinked into chasing a chimera. Perhaps those who reach that point then have no other option but to reach for the bottle and the syringe to escape the emptiness that gnaws at their soul. And what's the root cause? Surely the point is that we are looking for something that will gratify the self. But the self doesn't exist! It's an illusion. What doesn't exist obviously can't be gratified hence the escalating desperation of our hedonistic culture.
