Rent

My wife and I saw the "rock opera" (the term which best describes it) Rent Sunday night in Birmingham, Ala.
While I have reservations about one particular song, I find the whole thing a carefully-crafted masterpiece from a man whose potential seemed limitless. We've learned to find out that Johnathan Larson died of an apparent aortic anurysm the day of "Rent's" final rehearsal. Wow - what this man could have accomplished.
But he's left behind an amazing work portrayed by people who understand and love his words and music.
For the uninitiated, "Rent" is a story which revolves around a handful of friends in New York City sometime in the late 1980s, when the nation was coming to terms with the AIDS epidemic.
Several of the main characters are HIV-positive. Ironic we saw the musical in the city where some of the most advanced AIDS research may be still taking place.
The theme "Rent" comes from the double meaning of paying an indebtedness, i.e., rent, and the concept of something being torn, or 'rent.' The friends go through quite a lot of tearing.
"No day but today."
It's a pretty plain message for any one.