Reflections On Death

-

Photo poster of David Bowie
courtesy of Amazon's Affiliate Program.

We're all going to die.  There's no denying it.  There's no escaping it.  Yet, most of the time we can push death to the back of our mind; we have to.  If we thought about the inevitable end to our mortal existence, on a daily basis, we couldn't function.  Recently, I've been having a harder time ignoring death though.

We've lost four legends in the last month.

• David Bowie, singer of Life On Mars and numerous other hits, died on January 10th.
• Harry Potter's Snape and Die Hard's Hans Gruber, Alan Rickman, died on January 14th.
• Dan Haggerty, star of Grizzly Adams, died on January 15th.
• Glenn Frey, founder of The Eagles and solo singer of Smuggler's Blues, died on January 18th.

Of course, all four of these entertainment icons have done much more than what I've listed.  The roles and songs listed above are simply the works I remember most when I think of these men.

Them dying back to back, as they have, has brought the concepts of death and time to the forefront of my mind.  Bowie had just released a hit album when we lost him, reminding us that, despite our plans, things can change in an instant.

While such a thought can be viewed as a depressing excuse to hit the bottle, it can also be seen as a reminder to cherish life now.  Tomorrow, a ten year cat or an eighty year old uncle may die.  Embrace today, for this day, this moment, will never come again.

"Sailors fighting in the dance hall, Oh man! Look at those cavemen go. It's the freakiest show. Take a look at the Lawman beating up the wrong guy. Oh man! Wonder if he'll ever know he's in the best selling show. Is there life on Mars?"