“The rock world is mourning Gordon Kaelin McIntyre, the former frontman for the beloved hardcore band CDC.

A cause of death has not been made public, but McIntyre was active on social media right up until the end, and his last post caught the attention of several of his fans and friends.

‘What I need is a cigarette,’ McIntyre wrote on Facebook Wednesday. ‘No more prayers.’”

PennLive.Com

I am unfamiliar with Gordon Kaelin McIntyre and the hardcore band CC he fronted, but his final words resonate with me.

I despise the phrase “thoughts and prayers.” It is an empty, empathy-free platitude that substitutes for meaningful action. Evangelical preachers and politicians routinely invoke it after mass tragedies or disasters. I have heard it countless times, and I sure as hell do not want thoughts and prayers said on my behalf on my deathbed.

As I am dying, I would rather have my loved ones keep a quiet vigil than offer empty prayers on my behalf. Sing a song if you will, recite a poem if you must, just do not usher me to the other side with heavenly supplications.

Life is for the living, right until the end. McIntyre wanted to drag one last puff out of life. When I lay dying what I want is one last drag from a blunt.