Here's Hoping Joan Rivers Has The Last Laugh

While my family bands around my 84-year-old grandmother Pearl, who thankfully is doing well while dealing with a health issue (I wrote about this in yesterday's blog post: http://chrisbournea.blogspot.com/2014/08/road-trip-to-st-louis-detour.html), someone else of her generation is also facing a medical crisis. 

Legendary comedian Joan Rivers, 81, is reportedly on life support after going into cardiac and respiratory arrest during a relatively routine throat surgery on Thursday, Aug. 28.

It's hard to believe that Rivers, who is so energetic and up-to-date on pop culture, is in such serious condition. She's become a poster girl for the possibility of staying vital, active and relevant past a "certain age." In fact, she once famously said, "It's better to expire than retire."

Rivers and daughter, Melissa, 46, have had an outpouring of support. But Joan certainly has her fair share of critics who say she's mean-spirited in the biting comments she makes about celebrities in her stand-up act and appearances on the E! Network's Fashion Police.

Earlier this summer, Rivers grabbed headlines for walking out of an interview with CNN anchor Fredricka Whitfield after blowing her top when Whitfield grilled her about hurting people's feelings. (Watch the video "Joan Rivers Storms Out of CNN Interview" at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lKS-Et-VmE)

As Rivers told Whitfield, the rich, famous and powerful whom she mocks probably couldn't care less about what Rivers says about the ugly dress they chose for an awards show. And if they do, so what? They're in the public eye and fair game.

I tend to agree. For one thing, Rivers doesn't usually pick on easy targets.

It's not like Rivers shows up at a homeless shelter or a battered women's center, rolls out a red carpet, picks up a mic and shouts at someone who's down on their luck, "Hey, you slob, why the f*** are you wearing those holey sweatpants?!"

And despite her reputation for being harsh, she has a philanthropic side and has been closely involved with several charities for years.

Years ago when I was going through a rough spot in life, Rivers' book Bouncing Back helped me do just that. 

As related by the book's subtitle ("I've Survived Everything... and I Mean Everything"), she's a true survivor who has lived through countless calamities, including her husband Edgar's suicide, bankruptcy and very public failures - not the least of which was being blacklisted by former mentor and friend Johnny Carson.

I met Rivers in 2000 at a reception following her speaking engagement at the Ohio Theatre in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio. She seemed approachable when I walked up to her and shared with her how her book helped me overcome a post-college "quarter-life crisis." She was nice and seemed genuinely concerned when she asked me if I was doing better. I happily reported that I was - thanks, in part, to her book. 

And no, she didn't critique what I was wearing.

I'm hoping Rivers rebounds and lives to joke about the time back in '14 when she was on life support.