Enough With 2016!

I'm just going to come right out and say it. 2016- you need to just stop. Stop it now. I had never, ever, been someone who gets overwhelmed by celebrity deaths. I didn't know them personally and I customarily responded along the lines of "Awww, so and so passed away. That sucks..."

I just never got really emotionally charged over any of them other than just how sad death is in general.

I think that changed for me in 2014 with the death of my long time favorite celebrity person: Robin Williams. I was absolutely destroyed to hear of his passing. It was like a close personal friend or a family member whom I had grown up with had tragically died. He was Genie to my childhood. He was Mrs. Doubtfire. He was Mork, he defected in Moscow on the Hudson (A long time favorite because of my Eastern-European family) and so on and so on. He was so much to so many. He was What Dreams May Come for me- when my father died several years ago, and again, when my first son passed away in 2015. Robin made me laugh and cry my whole life. And even now, as I type this, I'm getting a little teary. His death changed it all for me. Looking back, I realize that as I age, the celebrities I grew up watching age too. Maybe it seems like more of them are passing away because we're all getting older now. Maybe it bothers me more now because of WHO is dying and how they pertain to my own life and memories. My '15 was preoccupied with the birth and death of my own child and the grief and heartache of the whole struggle. It's one that I'll probably speak about at length in this blog when I'm ready. Either way, I wasn't paying much attention to the world around me at the time; especially not to the happenings with celebrities. That changed again for me with the death of David Bowie. I was a late adopter of his music for whatever reason, and I didn't really figure it out until around 2005. But when I did, he brought me a whole era of music appreciation. He brought me a new style of music to enjoy, and to this day "Golden Years" is one of those songs that just get me up and smiling. I may have figured him out late, but he became one of my very favorite modern musicians, and a true trailblazer in music in my humble opinion. I shed many a tear when I heard about this. Then Gene Wilder (It's pronounced 'Fronk-en-steen!), Prince (I cried here too), Muhammad Ali, Castro (No loss there), and on an on and on. I jokingly blame the sudden uptick in celebrity deaths on two things:

1. The Cubs' World Series Win. Being from Chicago, this is something I never thought I'd live to see. I've said my whole life- "If the Cubs win the World Series, the world is in fact coming to an end." This, by the way, is pretty typical speak from a Cubs fan. I've grown up loving them... Buuuuuut... I loved them as losers. Now that the curse is lifted, I fear they may have doomed us all. 2. The election of Donald Trump to the White House. Mostly because I feel that society voted for a reality TV star instead of a candidate... this is cause to be concerned for humanity. What, if anything, that he does to "drain the swamp" remains to be seen, but I'm of the majority of voters that was dissatisfied with the options. (That's about as political a commentary you will see here. I tend to stay FAR away from public discussions of politics) Either way, we were all in shock when the Terminator became the Governator- and we are now living with The Big Orange as President-elect. (I often wonder what version of reality I wake up in.) So thank you, 2016- those two events are probably the beginning of the pull to the thread that unravels mankind. Proof of which is starting with the deaths of so very many loved celebrities. Just a few days ago, 2016 struck again when George Michael passed away. Now, I realize that it's personal. I see what you're doing, 2016. Go away! George hung on my wall as a pre-teen. His photo made it through my teenage years as well. I was convinced I was going to do very dirty things with that man. I was also living under a rock, apparently- you'd think I'd have figured him out with the Wham! Wake Me Up Before You Go Go video. But I digress... This one was the worst for me this year. George was my BOY. I owned every album. Even some on record. When Faith, or Freedom, or I Want Your Sex came on the radio- it didn't matter where I was, who was there, or what was going on. I was rocking out and singing at the top of my lungs.

Then, it was ZaZa Gabor. She reminded me so much of my grandmother in personality and mannerisms. That one stung.

Then 2016 took the princess. I mean- come ONNN. Carrie Fisher? Princess Leia? What the hell is happening, 2016? Why? I mean it was bad enough they killed Han Solo in The Force Awakens... but then you kill Leia in real life...? You are a sick, cruel bitch, '16. I'm sad I celebrated your arrival. To add insult to injury, Carrie's mother then passed away two days later from a stroke. (Though the chatter online is she died of a broken heart, and having lost a child myself, I can tell you that I am absolutely convinced this is a thing that could happen.) It's just enough now. Seriously. With only a few days left in 2016, I'm just putting a warning out to the Universe. If you take Elton John or Betty White- I'm coming for you. If you DON'T take Kanye and the Kardashians, I'm going to have a fit. Here's to the lights that went out in the world this year. The sky has gained some extremely bright and magnificent stars...