Why I Had a Mass Offered for Janis Joplin

Michie

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Mass offerings and other suffrages for the Poor Souls are one way of showing my thanks to all the artists and writers and historical figures who have delighted and affected me over the decades.

“It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.” — 2 Maccabees 12:46

Margaret was getting a new car, so she sold me her spunky old Camry for a decent price. It turned out, however, that it had more problems under the hood than anybody knew. “Struts and brakes all around, rack and pinion, timing belt, oil pump. It’s definitely not worth fixing,” said our mechanic. “It has so many leaks, it’s not even worth changing the oil. Just keep topping it off and drive it until it dies.”

Fair enough. Ben used it to scoot around town when he was home over the holidays, and so did Cecilia. In fact, Cece asked if she could take it to college for the spring semester. I agreed — if she was willing to faithfully watch the dipstick. “You were NOT kidding,” she texted a few days after returning to campus. “This thing just GUZZLES motor oil.”

True, but a free car otherwise. “Remember: No oil changes or other maintenance!” I texted back. “Freedom!”

Then, to underscore the point, I followed with another text: “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” For context (perhaps presumptuous and unnecessary, but you never know), I included a YouTube link to Janis Joplin’s rendition of “Me and Bobby McGee” — the recording’s Official Music Video, whatever that means.

Continued below.