Over the past weeks of having some quality time at home and traveling through airports and long car rides, I had the chance to FINALLY read Richard Blade’s autobiography to the very end. Blade’s accounts are not only a first hand account of a historical period in music and culture but also an assurance that life needs to be lived to the fullest no matter how difficult one’s current circumstances are.
It is rather difficult to talk about how impactful reading this book was without going into spoilers, so I would certainly encourage anyone out there to get this book and please read it. You don’t have to be a fan of 80s music or new wave alternative music to enjoy this book. What makes this book unique to the average everyday reader is that a certain story(s) can be related to almost any experience anyone has every gone through. Love. Loss. Sin. Risk. Travel. Dreams. Hopes. Depression. Happiness. This book encompasses any feeling or experience the average person has gone through. And the fact that this is an authentic autobiography and not a fictional novel is astonishing.
I was born in 1980 so I obviously was oblivious to many of the musical backstage happenings of that era, but as I enjoyed playing with my Nintendo and Gobots and Transformers I have fond memories of hearing Michael Jackson, Wham!, Duran Duran and many others on the radio and on cassette, and Richard Blade’s accounts including the aforementioned artists and many, many more add a new perspective which is uplifting and, moreover, completes my recollection of a time that will never be recreated.
I must say that no one person is perfect, and Richard Blade certainly is not as he openly confesses of his sins including his various love affairs in his autobiography. In this day and age of social media where everyone is protected by virtual anonymity as judgements and condemnations can easily be laid down with a simple click on any mobile device without any fear of repercussion, it certainly takes a lot of courage to openly discuss one’s very sensitive personal issues while admitting a wrong doing and hurting others in the process. Richard Blade shows this courage, and he does it in a very sincere manner. I think each and every one of us has sinned at one point in life which has left someone hurt and alone. This is a stark reminder that none of us have to right to judge anyone else until we look deep within ourselves.
As I am an avid listener of Sirius XM and First Wave, it is always fun to hear Richard Blade’s voice as I drive on the highway looking at Colorado’s mountains. What I never knew about Richard Blade was that he is an accomplished traveler, and I am certain that we could both share many stories with each other as I myself have been to 27 different countries. I have fond memories of hitchhiking in Peru and Czech Republic and sleeping in ferry boats and trains during my travels through Italy and Greece. That really is just the tip of the iceberg.
I have lived in Germany and Czech Republic, but the one thing (had to put in an INXS reference there) that really struck me is that Richard Blade lived in Sint Maarten just like I did. We were there at different times, so our paths had no way of crossing, but, nevertheless, his account of living on this Caribbean island was a reminder to me of just how small this world really is and how much one’s experience on that island can be so eerily similar to my own. Sint Maarten was the place where I saw my mother for the final time before she passed away more than 11 years ago. This island holds a special place in my heart, and I am certain Richard Blade feels the same way as well. It is unfortunate that Sint Maarten was totally decimated in Hurricane Irma of last year. I still hope to return in some capacity to help out with the medical and relief efforts.
As I said before, Richard Blade’s “World In My Eyes” is really a book about life. One of the most important things I will take away after reading this is to always strive and accomplish something and find joy in whatever I am doing in the face of extraordinary difficulty including loneliness and sadness. When my mother passed away during my medical studies, I took a week off for her funeral ceremony but was back at the books studying and working hard after that, persistently pushing forward in order to finish a mother’s dream. I may never meet Richard Blade, and he may never read this review, but I must say that Richard has no idea how much he and I have in common with each other. Well, I do have to admit he was better with the ladies that I could ever be, but all joking aside, Richard Blade’s recollections of his life and experiences in the music world show strong similarity to any one of our own individual life experiences.
Richard, thank you for sharing your story with me. Now, it’s time for me to finish my own.