I must be living in a cave. I wasn't aware that Captain Phil Harris, of Deadliest Catch on Discovery, died on February 9th [article link]. He suffered a stroke on January 29th and had a 12 hour surgery to relieve cranial blood pressure. He was 53 years old, five years younger than me. He lived a rough life, and was a chain smoker. The pressure was immense as he struggled to fill his catch quote every year.

Captain Phil Harris had experienced nose bleeds in an episode last season. That should have been a warning to him. He had periods when he couldn't breath. It was unbelievable to me he didn't try to take better care of himself. Perhaps he knew he didn't have much time left even at age 53. So, smoking, drinking and just the everyday pressure of Crab Fishing just took their toll on him. He was my favorite of all the characters we saw each week on Deadliest Catch. He'll be missed.