Yes, also, as you might imagine — hospice workers have the most wicked gallows humor I’ve ever encountered.

Aw, Christ, “list of topics” was obviously a joke/dig at myself re how I might have come off to some in the comment thread.

Yeah, I totally get that — and my point wasn’t about the mourning per se, more about the “shocked” reactions across the Interwebs about the fact that, like everyone else, famous/talented people have to die, and sometimes, like the rest of us schlubs, a handful of them will die at around the same time. I mean, I don’t…

Well, I think I’m actually more fun than you might believe, so feel free to send me your address, and I’ll show up with a few bottles of wine, a very fattening homemade dip and a long list of proposed conversational topics. :)

I wasn’t commenting on the mourning itself, more the “How could this possibly happen?!!” sentiment I keep seeing. As another Jez commenter so well put it, it’s almost as if some folks are personally offended by the fact that one of their musical heroes had the nerve to do that human thing and die. When Bowie died, I…

My mother died at age 52 after a battle with mental illness, and everyone thought I was suppressing something when I so easily accepted her death (suicide). But she’s actually one of the people who taught me to accept death as a natural and even beautiful part of life, so I have to give her credit for giving me that…

Yeah, I agree. It’s even hard for me to get mad at cancer if, say, a person gets sick and dies from it at age 85. Although we should all have a death as painless as my grandfather’s.

Exactly! That’s a large part of what I was trying to say — that when it’s a famous/talented person, there’s almost a “How dare you?” reaction from the masses, as if there has been some broad failure of the system, when, no, the system is working as it always has. Our heroes are no more immune to disease, decay and…

A lot of people seem to think that no one should die, EVER- they seem personally insulted whenever someone dies and I agree, that’s bizarre.

Yes, of course it’s worse when death happens young/tragically/completely unexpectedly. All of these folks did die relatively young based on the average age of death in the U.S., but at least they got close to 70 years and obviously did a whole hell of a lot of good living during the time they had. They were luckier…

You did just fine here in your follow up.

I always think “How many people can I die before”. I selfishly want to be outlived by my idols.

Ha, I’m OK, really. As I noted above in another comment thread, I grew up with a parent who worked in hospice care, and death was always freely discussed around my household — not as something scary and terrible, but as something to ultimately embrace, because its inevitability makes life sweeter, etc., etc., etc. (I…

That’s really not going to happen. Everyone you grew up with is going to die, and you’re going to die (I assume this isn’t news to you). The reaction people in our culture have to the inevitability of death is what’s depressing.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a very serious illness. It isn’t just a little ache in the joints.

This is not a good time to be a singer in your 60s.

She is “fat” for her industry and is probably told so by power players on the regular. I agree it is a little tone deaf when most people are heavier than her, but it might be her reality. I am pregnant right now and the number of people who walk up to me and tell me I am HUGE (even though I am in the normal weight…

“Hello ladies, you’re looking lovely this evening. Maybe we should all go back to my room...have you ever heard of Settlers of Catan?”

I have a theory that Leonardo DiCaprio doesn’t actually have sex with the huge number of women he brings back to his room, he just really likes board games.

Jeez, dude, sounds like they just thought you could use a little fuel. And we could all use a little change.