This week has been rough, so I went to the ROM and watched Cosmos. This is why...

Hi all,

I haven't written in a while, and for that I apologize. But this has been...wow.

First Bowie died on Jan 12 and now Alan Rickman on Jan 14. Neither of them really fit in, which is I suppose why I liked especially Rickman a lot. He showed that whatever you do, no matter what age you are, if you truly want it enough, you can have it.

I was truly cut up about Alan Rickman. He auditioned for RADA (The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) at the ripe old age of 26, and was accepted, giving the first monologue from Richard III for his audition. He later performed with many theatre companies, and even wrote and directed plays himself. He had a first foray into film with his memorable turn in Die Hard as Hans Gruber. He also was known for the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), his portrayal of Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility (1996), the much-loathed Professor Snape in the Harry Potter franchise, the pervy manager in Love Actually, and the voice of the Blue Caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.

I can't say exactly why his death hit me so hard. Maybe it was that I just expected him to live forever, never really aging, as British actors do. He was so incredibly young to die, and the world will truly be the poorer, for a great light has gone out. I was never a true Bowie fan, although I respect him greatly - but Rickman, I was felt, was underappreciated. His flair for drawing you into the character he played was so wonderful. I feel the same that I felt when Charles M. Schultz (Sparky) died in 2000 - that has a genius has passed.

So I have been watching Cosmos on repeat, and the great thing about it is this: we are all made of the stars. No matter who we are, no matter where we come from, we never truly die, for our bodies are converted back to the stuff of the stars that they are made from. Stars to dust, dust to stars. I find nature to be incredibly poetic, and I am convinced Alan Rickman would find that poetic as well. It has the added wonder of being true.

So I went to the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) because I needed to know that memory will not fade, even while death continues to be a reality.I found that, in the great skeletons of the dinosaurs. They lived millions of years ago, yet we find their fossils still. Alan Rickman died today, but the world will not easily forget such an immense talent.

Sir Ian McKellen, you cannot die soon. Please hold out for me.

Xoxo,

Olivia