Paxety Pages

Art Bell's beloved wife of fifteen years, Ramona, died unexpectedly last night after an asthma attack. At present, the exact cause of Mrs. Bell's death has not been determined. It apparently took place during her sleep.

Until her death, Art and Ramona Bell had not been apart a day since they were married. Mrs. Bell had suffered from asthma for years, and took her normal steps to control the attack, which occurred sometime last night in Laughlin, Nevada where the Bells were taking a brief vacation. Ramona Bell was 47 years old.

As James Lileks says on both his Bleat for today, and his podcast, the Art Bell 90s were a time when the economy was good, communism was dead and the only thing we had to worry about was 15 or 20 of our citizens annually being transported from their bedrooms and anally probed. Maybe by FEMA. Anyway, Art's late night sense of humor and curiosity always made great radio.

He frequently told stories involving Ramona. Just a couple of weeks ago, he told the story of their bird, Power, who flew around their house at ceiling level to avoid the cats. However one cat, Yeti, leapt from the floor to catch Power on the fly. Art told how he and Ramona chased Yeti through the house as Power screamed for help. They finally freed Power, but the stress was just too much for his little bird heart.

Asthma is a serious illness, and the seriousness is frequently not recognized by folks who don't have it. I know because I have it. It's not, contrary to folklore, an emotional illness - it's triggered by the body's overreaction to such diverse things as allergies, cold air and exercise. Symptoms include the familiar wheezing as well as coughing and fatigue from not getting enough oxygen. If you suspect you have it, get to a doctor who can test for it. If you know folks who have asthma and who say they can't do something or eat something or can't be around common things like house dust or perfume, don't make fun of them and try to force them to do the thing they avoid. You could be killing them.