First, I am tired of watching commercials from St. Jude asking me for contributions. According to what I have read, the endowment of St. Jude is more than $7 billion (with a “b”), and that U.S. News and World Report says that it is the 9th best pediatric cancer hospital in the country, but its endowment is larger than the endowments of the 8 which rank better combined. I am not begrudging St. Jude its endowment, nor am I being critical of its USN&WR rating. All I am asking is that it stop bombarding me with its commercials.

Second, speaking of irritation, I don’t know much about McAfee Corp., the anti-virus company, except again that it bombards my computer with requests to subscribe, or renew, or extend, or whatever. I don’t think I have s McAfee subscription, unless it comes automatically. (Same with Norton) And I have no problem with what McAfee does – I assume it does what it does reasonably well. I am mentioning McAfee because this week I watched a documentary film called “Gringo: the Dangerous Life of John McAfee” on SHO. Have you seen it?

The film is 7 or 8 years old, I think. It talks about John McAfee, the founder of the company, and clearly a wizard who was one of the first to even come up with the concept of a computer virus, and who designed some of the first, or may the very first, program to clear viruses from computers. He was a brilliant, but eccentric and demanding head of the company, until he had a falling out with his partners as to the future of the company and was bought out. 

He was now an wealthy, young, brilliant, eccentric, who bought hundreds of acres in Colorado and created a chic and free for invitees yoga retreat, attracting a cult of followers, until he tired of that (he said people were taking advantage of him) and he decided to move to Belize and live a simple life, while improving society and conditions in the impoverished country. While there, he decided to go into the natural medicine business, to bring in a young female partner, and to hid their lab behind an extraordinary amount of security.

Of course, they had a falling out as well, she accused him of drugging and raping her ala Bill Cosby, and she ran away back to the US. He was picked up by the local police and accused of running a drug lab, but it apparently couldn’t be proved, and charges were dropped. 

Down the beach from him, an American who made it big in construction retired young and built a beautiful house. McAfee and his neighbor, Gary Faull didn’t get along and Faull was killed. All suspicion when Faull fell fell on McAfee and his rough security team. McAfee, who was with one of his many indigenous native girl friends the night of the murder (with all of whom he apparently had a disgustingly bizarre sexual relationship for much needed money), denied everything, and fled the country, going illegally to Guatamala by boat where he was arrested, set for extradition back to Belize. But he somehow (I already forgot this detail) escaped to the U.S.

Back in the U.S., he was able to reinvent himself both as a sought after computer guru and a Libertarian. You may remember he ran for president on the Libertarian ticket – I think twice.

That’s where the film left him. But subsequently, I have read that he was arrested for income tax evasion, fled the country for Spain, again was approved for extradition, this time back to the United States, and rather than face extradition, hanged himself in a Spanish prison.

Did John McAfee even donate to St. Jude? I don’t know. But I do know one thing – the result of my looking up a few things to complain about the intrusion of both St. Jude and McAfee into my space? My Google and Facebook feeds are now filled with solicitations from St. Jude and ads from McAfee. You can’t win.