Never will I forget… far too many to quote from…
“Little red Corvette
Baby you’re much too fast
Little red Corvette
You need a love that’s gonna last…”
… to…
“How can you just leave me standing?
Alone in a world that’s so cold?
Maybe I’m just too demanding
Maybe I’m just like my father too bold…”
… to…
“Sometimes it snows in April
Sometimes I feel so bad, so bad
Sometimes I wish life was never ending,
And all good things, they say, never last…”
“Little Red Corvette,” “When Doves Cry,” even “Sometimes It Snows In April”… When iconic musician Prince passed away on Thursday, so many of those lyrics flashed through my head. I found myself engaged in my own, private, somber lip sync…
Prince Rogers Nelson contributed much to far more than a small corner of the world. His death is shocking and sobering, recognizing that an incredibly gifted and talented man has left us. Much like the deaths of David Bowie, Glenn Frey, and Joey Feek earlier in the year, we are left saddened by the loss. I must say, there many nights I spent — especially in the 80’s — with a school book on my desk and Prince singing somewhere in the background. Still more nights I dropped the book and danced away with several of us sorority sisters in the room. But we are sobered by the loss of someone who meant so much.
I never wish, however, for the loss of any other to be any less sobering…
As one of my long time friends that is closer than a brother said yesterday:
“While we collectively mourn the death of Prince, let us not forget to mourn and pray for the families of ‘everyday people’ who also leave this world long before we desire. Let’s remember to pray for the parents who have to bury their child, or the family who has to say goodbye to one of the shining beacons in their family who has touched countless lives. Let’s remember to pray for those whose family member(s) were killed due to some seemingly senseless crime or had their lives snatched away from an earthquake, flood, or other natural disaster. These people may not have a global impact like a celebrity may have, but to those who knew them, they were a big part of their world.”
In other words, there exist lots of “big parts” to our individual worlds. Celebrity status does not equate to less sad or less sobering. Celebrity status only means more of us are familiar; it does not mean the impact of a lesser known person is any less.
Most of us have experienced the loss of life of someone who is deeply important. From the waitress I spoke to on Friday who just lost her father to the over 650 who passed away in Equador’s recent earthquake, all loss of life is significant.
As Prince’s brother-in-law said, “Death isn’t easy for anybody.” No, it’s not.
Death is sobering. The loss of life is sad and significant. It also prompts me to ask some of life’s bigger, more challenging questions.
Let us not forget…
Respectfully…
AR