When celebrities leave us

I suppose it is a definite sign of age when we learn on the news that a celebrity who has made a mark on our consciousness passes on. I remember in days gone by when certain celebrities passed away and parents and even grandparents would comment on their importance or influence. I can remember the older generation talking about what a beautiful dancer Cyd Charisse was. I can't tell you anything else about Cyd Charisse except that she died recently and was admired by the older generation. And just yesterday came the anouncement that George Carlin died. Yes, he was a definite influence to my generation, Didn't we all laugh hysterically when we hear the 7 words you can't say on television? Weren't we coming into our own, making our mark on the popular culture when we realized that it was one of our comics who was making us laugh with material that would have never been uttered by our predecessors? What is to become of the popularizing of opera with Pavarotti gone? He certainly led me with what I wanted to learn to sing. And these are only entertainers. We wonder when we lose those who reached the pinnacle: the presidents, popes, and monarchs of the world. Still nothing touches us like the loss of those who we love the dearest. And it's not always the final loss that tears our emotions. I'm finding retirement losses are not as easy as they once were. A prelude to mortality?