It's The Young Ones That Shock You

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If you have been following the news, it was recently reported that legendary basketball player Kobe Bryant was just killed in a helicopter crash somewhere in California. I am not a huge sports fan. But I of course know who he is, and so when I heard the news it still shocked me. He was only 41. It's when the young ones die that you find yourself shocked. Even a bit saddened, even when you do not know these people personally. I mean, take someone like Betty White. She is almost 100 years old. She is adored. She is iconic. But if they reported now that Betty White died I'd be sad, but not necessarily shocked. Maybe it's the youth. Maybe it's that in some ways some of these people seem to us to be larger than life. It just takes a bit by surprise. Some recent people in my own short life here so far that I can recall giving me great pause when I learned of their deaths (in no particular order): John Lennon John Denver Steve Irwin Prince Robin Williams Michael Jackson Whitney Houston Tom Petty I am sure there are others. But these people readily come to mind. Who have you been shocked to learn had died in the past? What was it that made you particularly affected by the news?