June 3, 2021
Connections
We don't value older living people like we should, especially people who have a connection to our past. I sometimes marvel at that observation. At first, I related connections to our past movie stars. It's like 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon. They link our history since movies significantly impact most of our lives.
Let's say you think of Gene Hackman, who is alive at 91 years old. He is connected to Christopher Reeves, deceased through the Superman series, or his connection with Gene Wilder since Gene was in the movie Bonnie and Clyde with him. You can think of all the connections he has had to cinema legends.
These are just examples of some celebrities because he has a brilliant resume working with great actors who are long gone. If you think deeply about his significance while he's alive, Gene Hackman has been in the presence of greatness. He has spoken to them about life, love, and movies during his lifetime. He has also interacted with them on celebrity specials. Gene Hackman is their living memory of an existence of a time that is gone until the day he's gone. We have movies. But hopefully, someone has recorded his personal stories. We can get him on a podcast. Our connection to movie and television stars dwindles daily. Quick, someone connects with Betty White!
When I think of family, I think of my father, John. He's alive, but his brother Al passed away over 20 years ago. His older sister passed a few years ago. But if my cousins want to know who their dad was or have feelings about what their father was like, they can go see my dad. He's their connection. Or if my cousin wants some sense of her mother, she can connect with my dad.
My children, Nico and Christopher, are their mother's legacy. She's been gone 9 years now. If her family wants to remember their sister and daughter, and her friends want to remember her, they can find her in her children's eyes. Sadly, they do not search.
In the 90's, I lost close friends. Four of them died tragically. They were so young. Their youth exuded from their pores, which made them feel invincible. And why shouldn't they have felt invincible? Youth is king. But in the end, it felt like wasted youth because death does not care where you are in your life when it comes. My friends and I know them and can talk about them and remember who they were with anyone with anyone interested. We are connected to their existence from a time that lasts longer than 20 years. One day I should write about them. They'd enjoy this future. It was the beginning of AOL's budding and the internet's birth.
Life is moving more quickly, and we will lose people. Like a wagon trail heading west, they just kept pushing through their fatigue and death amongst their numbers. We can't circle the wagons for long when we are faced with the unimaginable pain of the death of a loved one. We must remain strong because that Wagon Train is moving on.
Losing someone is tough to deal with at any time of our life because we know we have no choice but to move forward without his or her essence. That doesn't mean we should lose contact with people who can connect us with their souls, describe how they once were, or share stories to breathe new life into their past. You wouldn't disregard a psychic if you knew he or she could connect you to them in the afterlife, would you? So, we should respect people who directly connect to the ones we lost.
Cousins, uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters, nephews, nieces, famous people, war buddies, influential people, and good friends. These connections should be recorded, archived, and cherished before the connection breaks off forever.
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