It is a bit mysterious how we sometimes get attached to certain celebrities. I’m not one of those people who have ever sought autographs, or been star struck. Even when seeing some notable stars on stage, I was appreciative of their talents, but that is as far as it goes with me.
There was, however, one night when I saw Maya Angelou with Oprah Winfrey on stage, doing a one-on-one conversation. It was powerful, I have to say. One could “feel” their big energy.
Anyway. Back to my original statement, about getting “attached” to certain celebrities. I’m guilty of this. Maybe attached is the wrong word. But it is a feeling of familiarity. Most of mine have been comedians, like Gilda Radner. Steve Martin is also a favorite of mine.
But the one I am thinking of today is Robin Williams. This is the anniversary of his death, having committed suicide in 2014. He was a young 63 years old.
I will always remember his from his early days on Mork and Mindy. It was a goofy little, harmless show. But he played it so well. Not long after that, he started doing a series of movies. Early on, he was recognized for his acting talents. He received three Academy Award nominations for “Good Morning, Vietnam” (1987), “Dead Poets Society” (1989), and “The Fisher King” (1991). He finally won an Oscar for “Good Will Hunting” (1997).
I could write about all his other achievements, but most of us are familiar enough. It was when he died that I became aware of that “mysterious attachment” that I mentioned earlier. I was sad. It was like I had lost an old friend, and I never even met the man.
Another one, and I feel almost silly saying it, was the recent passing of Regis Philbin. Over the years, due to my “odd” work schedule with various jobs — at two different newspapers — and the library, I was able to catch his show on a lot of mornings. After he passed, they did a tribute show to him on the ongoing “Live” Show, with Kelly and Ryan. I watched that day, and my heart was heavy. I even cried a few times. I was sad to see him gone from this world.
I think we come to know certain things about life. Not only people but places and circumstances. Animal friends. And it makes our hearts happy that those people, beings, and things are in our lives. Yet. Once they go away, and we realize they are never coming back, our hearts ache. We grieve.
We can grieve about a lot of different aspects of our lives. And that grieving can be an incredibly long process. In a lot of cases, we never get completely “over” the heartache. And no one should expect us to. I think the important thing is to be kind and gentle with ourselves, understanding that how we feel is perfectly right. It is exactly where we are supposed to be in our life learning.
So on the anniversary of Robin Williams’ death, I am still sad that he is gone from this place. But it reminded me of so many others who I have lost along the way, crossing over to another existence, whatever that may, or may not be. It reminds me to have gratitude today, for people, for pets, for bowls of oatmeal, and green grass. We are fortunate to have each moment of this.
=========
“No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.”
― C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed
=========
“So it’s true, when all is said and done, grief is the price we pay for love.”
― E.A. Bucchianeri, Brushstrokes of a Gadfly,
=========
“It is useless for me to describe to you how terrible Violet, Klaus, and even Sunny felt in the time that followed. If you have ever lost someone very important to you, then you already know how it feels, and if you haven’t, you cannot possibly imagine it.”
― Lemony Snicket, The Bad Beginning
==========
