Rob Scheider, best (?) known for his role as police chief in “Jaws,” died of complications from a staph infection on Sunday. He had multiple myeloma. You can read the NY Times story here: http://tinyurl.com/3ayolx.

I heard about his death on the one o’clock Italian news yesterday. The story provided no details, except that he had died after a “long illness.” To be exact, the translation from Italian would be “he disappeared after a long illness” (è scomparso dopo una lunga malattia). Disappeared. Long illness.

I admit, euphemisms bother me now. I hope I don’t sound morbid (!), but now, if I am told or hear that someone has cancer, I want to know what type of cancer it is. Etc. I am no longer scared of discussing cancer and death. Before my diagnosis, though, I most certainly avoided the subject.

If you ignore it, it won’t touch you, right?

Wrong. Funny how things change. After.