October 23, 2020

"From time to time, I’ll have my inward explosions because sometimes it’s like banging your head against a wall. But then there’ll be what you might call a heated situation..."

"... and I’ll notice halfway through that she’s winking at me. Moments like that are so genius and rewarding because something in her has clicked and she’ll be teasing me like she’s always done when I’m being a bit saucy!" 

Doctors, he says, insisted on medicating her, ‘and I really got fed up with the advice they were giving. A lot of them were suggesting narcotics of some kind to subdue her, but why would I want to do that? When someone’s coming towards their last few years, to then deny them the freedom and fun of running, jumping, being in the sun, chatting — why would I take that all away and have her be a comatose victim? It would be easier for myself but not for her, and that’s where my first concern lies.’

38 comments:

donald said...

I love that guy.

Dave Begley said...

Quite admirable, Mr. Rotten.

Political Junkie said...

Well done, sir. Well done.

gilbar said...

Johnny Rotten said...
Doctors, he says, insisted on medicating her, ‘and I really got fed up with the advice they were giving. A lot of them were suggesting narcotics of some kind to subdue her, but why would I want to do that?


compare and contrast with Sid and Nancy

Big Mike said...

We had joy, we had fun
We had seasons in the sun
But the wine and the song
Like the seasons have all gone

Quayle said...

The beauty of this life as designed: it can take someone Rotten and make them so loving, if they'll pay attention and stick with it.

Howard said...

Not exactly Sid and Nancy, more like Ozzie and Harriet

stevew said...

Such a beautiful and loving sentiment that he puts into action.

MadisonMan said...

@Big Mike, that song always made me change channels. So overplayed in the mid-70s.
This is a beautiful story. Who has the film rights? The story deserves a wide audience.

Matt said...

Gonna have to change his name to Johnny Teddy Bear.

Wince said...

I had the chance to tell Lydon how much I enjoyed reading his first book containing touching accounts of his mother and father.

I think he appreciated it but, because he was next to fellow Pistol Steve Jones at the time, he said, "well, then you should have bought two copies!"

Talk about a "priceless" retort from Johnny Rotten! I loved it!

tim maguire said...

Quayle said...The beauty of this life as designed: it can take someone Rotten and make them so loving, if they'll pay attention and stick with it.

Like Malcolm McClaren, Johnny Rotten was always more showman than radical. The title of their second album was a coy hint: "The Great Rock and Roll Swindle." His first book (I think), No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs, was a good read that you don't have to be a Pistols fan to enjoy.

iowan2 said...

Doctors, he says, insisted on medicating her, ‘and I really got fed up with the advice they were giving

Follow the science right?

I do want to focus on this, because the left is ALWAYS arguing from a position supposed Science authority. The above quote is a great example of "science" reaching a conclusion.' medicated patient will be less of a danger to self and others' May be true, but here is the substantial portion of the process left out of the debate. There are other factors of equal or greater importance that a Dr (scientist) do not,will not, can not, consider. Those factors must be identified and given weight.

The politicization of covid response is exactly like the above example. "Scientist" tell you the science says shut down everything but not essential. To those scientists, they only consider one isolated factor. Unable, unwilling, and uneducated, to consider unintended consequences, and other factors that are important to the "patient".
If you are fortunate enough to none, or little contact with doctors treating a serious medical condition, you have never listen to a doctor explain what he knows, or more accurately what has has the highest level of confidence in treatment protocols. Lots of time, in hard questioning, the Dr will admit doing less, or nothing, statistacly is equal,considering trade offs.
With covid, "experts" are making recommendations, secure in the knowledge if they are wrong, they will never be held to account, because...they will explain, "I was just making and informed guess, anything could have happened"

Ryan said...

I love him too. He is a treasure. Maintained his integrity and has never sold out or sucked up to anyone. Plus he takes care of his ill wife. What an example. He needs to change his name to Johnny Fresh.

Sebastian said...

"It would be easier for myself but not for her, and that’s where my first concern lies"

At some point, trying to keep "your Nora" when your Nora is gone makes you, not her, the first concern. Alzheimer's is cruel that way.

Doug said...

Man ... who knew?

Rick.T. said...

"She’s burnt the house down twice now! Once in England and once here...


Did everybody just skip over that part? Good thing those grandchildren weren't visiting at the time.

Krumhorn said...

Excellent article! You don't see stuff like that these days.

- Krumhorn

Tom T. said...

It's a sweet story until they die in a fire.

mikee said...

My own aged mother has a commercial fire extinguishing system over her kitchen cooktop, with an automated sensor to detect smoke and flames, installed by my very canny brother after Mom's 2nd stovetop saucepan fire. Mom forgets she's cooking sometimes and wanders off to watch TV. Sure it looks funny, but having it go off once has kept Mom more attentive while cooking for over a year. And kept the house from burning down.

Mr. Rotten might consider such housefire avoidance measures in his latest habitation.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

That’s a tough one. Does it imperil her? Or is the peril worth not reducing her to a Bidenesque zombie? Regardless, props to him for his devotion and courage in what must a heart-breaking no-win situation. I still remember picking up my first copy of Never Mind the Bollocks. Incredible that we’re talking about that guy in this situation.

Lucien said...

"Love is not love that alters where it alteration finds."

SensibleCitizen said...

Johnny Rotten is a good man. Who could have guessed that?

Tina Trent said...

And now, when the end is near, Johnny Rotten turns out to be a first-class mensch.

Unknown said...

I've already made the deal with my husband: If I get dementia, he's welcome to screw with me. Tell me I used to be a spy. Ask me what I think about aliens landing. That sort of thing.

It will be awful and heartbreaking no matter what; might as well have some fun moments - especially if I won't remember them, anyway.

Wince said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
tcrosse said...

Alzheimers is asshole. Covid restrictions make it even harder to deal with.

Tom B said...

Tags: Alzheimer's, marriage, Sex Pistols

Fuck yeah

Joe Smith said...

"Johnny Rotten is a good man. Who could have guessed that?"

"And now, when the end is near, Johnny Rotten turns out to be a first-class mensch."


He was an entertainer and rock singer. I'm pretty sure that when he was younger he had a lot of fun being the 'bad boy.'

I'm also sure that most of it was schtick, for which he was handsomely compensated.

He was likely just as nice of a man then...

Ann Althouse said...

From Lydon's Wikipedia article:

"Religious views/Lydon's parents raised their sons as Roman Catholics and Lydon calls himself a Catholic. He has stated that he "never had any godlike epiphanies or thought that God had anything to do with this dismal occurrence called life". On the liner notes of Public Image Ltd's single, "Cruel", Lydon included, "Where is God? I see no evidence of God. God is probably Barry Manilow.""

Jon Ericson said...

The king is gone but he's not forgotten

Is this the story of Johnny Rotten?

It's better to burn out 'cause rust never sleeps

The king is gone but he's not forgotten

daskol said...

Punk fucking rock. I'll dance to anything by public image limited.

daskol said...

Even though I don't dance.

n.n said...

Lock down... lock her down.

Iman said...

Inspiring and sweet story. It’s nice to read of/hear of real people facing and dealing with unfortunate circumstances in a caring, loving way.

And unusual, when they are celebrities.

Krumhorn said...

What makes this even more striking is that she is 14 years older than he is. It's hard enough imagining that Johnny Rotten is 64!! That's a kick in the balls.

- Krumhorn

Assistant Village Idiot said...

People make different choices, and his might not be best for her, either. But it shows a tremendous generosity of spirit and willingness to love sacrificially.

stephen cooper said...

I have to admit that for the last 5 decades I did not know that Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious were not the same person.

I mean, I know it now, after reading this post.

To be fair, I am certain I never met Johnny Rotten, but it is possible I met Sid Vicious back in the day. If I remember right, he was at a urinal relieving himself and inappropriately laughing at himself, and I - relieving myself at a nearby urinal, like a normal human being: said, like any decent person would say: "dude it is uncool to laugh at yourself at a public urinal" and he said
"I don't wanna argue with you mate"

I wanted to say I am not your fucking mate but then I remembered that we should be polite to foreigners with funny accents, it is not their fault they talk funny. I finished pissing, quickly zipped up and walked away and never looked back (back in the day it was a lot easier to finish pissing in a nice clean way than it is now, but I have my problems and you have yours, and I don't want you to worry about my problems).

Anyway good for Johnny Rotten, a hero of the pair bonding world. I mean, I know the main reason we are here is to be what God wants us to be, to be a beacon of light to all, no matter what, but if someone is really good at pair bonding, well, that is a good reason to be here too.

If you don't like what I said tell me what you would have said to Sid Vicious while he inappropriately laughed at himself at a public urinal, I think I handled it as well as could be expected, YMMV. Sure you might have done better but it is what it is, nobody cares, certainly not Sid Vicious and trust my honest heart, certainly not me.