Billy Mays touched my life in unexpected ways

I've been watching the news today and am hearing how the cause of television spokeman Billy Mays might have been die to an injury that was received during a rough landing of the plane he returned to Florida on, causing items to fall from the overhead compartments.

Reading something a few minutes ago it seems that the cause was determined to have been a pulmonary embolism.

Whatever the cause, it is a sad event and my heartfelt sympathies go out to Mr. Mays's family and friends. I, like many others, had my life touched by Mr. Mays. I am one of many that has purchased products he spoke enthusiastically about - there is OxyClean on my laundry room shelf at this very moment.

Mr. Mays also influenced me in an unexpected way that I had not realized. I owe to him some of my bravery in diving into working as an advertising copywriter. I had not made that connection before, but I realized it yesterday. Watching Mr. Mays on television, seeing his energy in what he did - it had an unconscious effect on my seeing advertising copywriting and product endorsement as being as being just as legitimate a way to work as a writer as any other form of writing.

Thank you, to the Mays family, for sharing Mr. Mays with the rest of us through his television pitches.

My mother was another unexpected way in which Mr. Mays touched my life. Her and I enjoyed watching Mr. Mays's energetic product endorsements together. She passed away this past September from unexpected heart failure and it pains me that with as much as we know about medicine and everything that heart disease is still something that can claim a life so quickly and unexpectedly.

Sincerest condolences to Mr. Mays's family and friends.