This month has not been kind to celebrities, with all the deaths since Lemmy back before the New Year: Natalie Cole right after that, then David Bowie, Alan Rickman, the guy who played Grizzly Adams, and now Glenn Frey yesterday. I read a post that said (jokingly), since Terry Pratchett died Death has been out of control and is just snatching up anyone he finds interesting. Kind of a cool way to look at it, if you think about it.
But, I knew some tactless cad who posted about how: "you don't know these people, so stop crying and carrying on like it's a big deal. It isn't, so just knock it off. It's not like any of you knew these people personally, so stop making it about you."
First off, that guy could give the Grinch a run for his money in the "heart too small" category. I bet he kicks puppies and steals from the tip jar as well. Secondly, when people mourn a celebrity, they aren't mourning them personally, they are mourning the effect that they had on their lives. When we interact with a celebrity in the format of their choosing (usually their art, such as movies or music or whatnot), we let them into us, in a manner of speaking. Who here hasn't watched a movie and felt an instant connection with a character, or listened to a song and felt moved as if the singer was singing it directly to them? It's a fairly common human reaction.
In this day and age, it's really easy to stay up-to-date with your favorite celebrity (or celebrities) in whatever manner you choose (and that they choose to use). We live in a world where somebody on another continent isn't really as far as they used to be. And that's a wonderful thing, that level of interconnectedness (yes, I made up a word, but I'm a writer, that's what we do) where this great big world becomes a little bit smaller with each passing day. The problems of a country halfway around the world are no longer something to note in passing, they become my problems as well.
So if someone has touched your life in some way, whether they are famous or just a regular person, don't feel ashamed or weird if you mourn their passing. That just shows that you're human, and after all, death is the great equivalent for us all, so there is nothing wrong with feeling sad that the world (and you) will never get to talk to that person again, hear them speak, watch them just be alive. But, don't also forget to celebrate what made them so noteworthy in the first place as well. That is the true way that those who have moved on will always stay alive, forever in our hearts. Take care of yourselves, take care of each other, and have a great week.