As we navigate these sweet days of celebration and reflection — bookended by the birth of the Christ child and the clean slate opportunity accompanying every new year — and how cool that those two events are tied together — let’s first take a look back. We lost several persons of significance. Knowing no life is worth more or less than another, we’ll focus on four, whose lives and deaths especially stood out to me in “this thing we keep calling 2020”…
Kobe Bryant. In a shock to the start of the year, on a Sunday morning in January, the helicopter Kobe, his talented daughter, Gianna, and seven others were riding in, crashed in the California fog. Shock may be an understatement. Here one of the greatest players to ever play the game of basketball, who had only retired four years prior, showed us there is no such thing as invincible.
But Kobe’s death wasn’t shocking simply because of the invincibility factor. Here was a person who actually fit the oft-used idiom of being “larger than life.” He was someone we always noticed — both on and oft the hardwood. In wins and losses and even in personal struggle and very public defeat, there was a sense that Kobe was always real with us. He was passionate, fierce, and fun. As Michael Jordan eulogized, with tears streaming down his face, “Kobe gave every last ounce of himself to whatever he was doing. After basketball, he showed a creative side to himself that I didn’t think any of us knew he had. In retirement, he seemed so happy. He found new passions. And he continued to give back, as a coach, in his community. More importantly, he was an amazing dad, amazing husband, who dedicated himself to his family and who loved his daughters with all his heart. Kobe never left anything on the court. And I think that’s what he would want for us to do.”
What a person. What a shock. That day the tears streamed down my face, too.
Chadwick Boseman. Oh, how talented Chadwick Boseman was! Boseman passed away in August from colon cancer, a condition he kept fairly private, even continuing to act while struggling with the disease since 2016. Long time friend Denzel Washington said of Boseman, “He was a gentle soul and a brilliant artist, who will stay with us for eternity through his iconic performances over his short yet illustrious career. God bless Chadwick Boseman.”
Boseman’s most notable performance was playing the Black Panther superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film franchise. The character had enhanced speed and strength and was even able to absorb kinetic energy and release it as a shockwave. Yet here is a character that millions across the globe paid attention to, rooted on, and heartily cheered for. He is black. Skin color didn’t matter. In a summer when as a nation we were reeling in the pain of the racial tension that crisscrossed our country, Boseman’s death reminded us that persons of all skin colors deserve to be paid attention to, rooted on, and heartily cheered for.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg. This death was painful — but not so much because RGB hadn’t lived a long, fruitful, and successful life. She graduated from the top of her class at Cornell; she was one of only nine women at Harvard Law School (out of 500); and during her 27 year tenure on the Supreme Court, she became a celebrated icon for some of her noteworthy majority opinions in addition to her sharp wit and dissent.
Yet when “The Notorious R.B.G.” passed in September, the first words out of the Intramuralist’s mouth were “oh, no.” With all due respect to the Ginsburg family, my “oh no” was not to be callous to their personal grief; my dismay was more directed at the fractured state of our country, where political passions have sadly become equated with tribal dividing lines. In the weeks before the election, this would simply be one more thing to fight about. And fight is what many did. Friends, few look their best when fighting.
When Ginsburg passed away, if we were willing to forgo the fight, we had opportunity to remember the wise words of her good friend, Justice Antonin Scalia. Passing away four years prior, he was considered as conservative as Justice Ginsburg was liberal. When questioned once why then he would give his perceived political adversary a generous gift for her birthday, asked if in any five-four case he ever received Justice Ginsburg’s vote, Scalia answered, “Some things are more important than votes.” RGB’s death reminded us that some things are more important than votes… more important than politics.
And lastly…
Alex Trebek. There must be something special about a person we allowed to enter so many households on a nightly basis for so many years. As host of the syndicated game show Jeopardy! for 37 seasons, he was beloved by many for far more than his game show hosting ability. As current executive producer, Mike Richards, stated: “… [Alex] loved this show and everything it stood for. In fact, he taped his final episodes less than two weeks ago. He will forever be an inspiration for his constant desire to learn, his kindness, and for the love of his family.”
When Trebek passed away six days after a tumultuous election day and even more uproarious season, it felt like his death provided us pause to put life in perspective. Here was Trebek, dying from pancreatic cancer, and yet, he was always aware of others; he would oft emphasize that he was not the only person suffering from this disease. Asked then if he was afraid of dying, he said “no.” “… I’ve lived a good life, a full life, and I’m nearing the end of that life… if it happens, why should I be afraid [of] that?… One thing they’re not going to say at my funeral, as a part of a eulogy, is ‘He was taken from us too soon.’” Trebek’s reminder of the beauty of humility, kindness, and gratitude came at the exact right time.
And so we close out “this thing we keep calling 2020,” shocked at the start of the year, aware that all people deserve to be respected and cheered for, recognizing there exists much which is far more important than politics, and encouraged to keep life in perspective. Maybe this year provided some sweet, necessary lessons after all.
Respectfully…
AR