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  They say it comes in threes. Kris Kristofferson, Pete Rose and Dikembe Mutombo have all passed away. Three celebrities of some renown. I was quite familiar with the first two but had only heard the name of the third man. That's because I'm not a big fan of basketball. I'm certain it is a big loss to those fans. Everyone knew Kris. His songs are classics. Although I always felt his singing left a lot to be desired his talent for writing those songs supplanted that. I felt the same way about Paul Williams. But Kris did well at acting as well and I did enjoy his performances. As one of the highwayman you could see and feel the friendship he had with the other members. Celebrity friendships are certainly something different than what us common folks experience. That's my thinking.

  Then there is Pete Rose. His accomplishments on the baseball field are undeniable. Not being a fan of the Reds or the Phillies he was never a favorite of mine, my heroes have always been Yankees. Still he holds the record for most runs scored in a career. He did make some very bad choices later in life that resulted in a lifetime ban from major league baseball. He wrote books about that, gave impassioned speeches and lobbied to be inducted into the hall of fame. It is my feeling he never really acknowledged his wrongdoing, always making some excuse for that. He made a deal with major league baseball to accept that lifetime ban in exchange for them not pursuing any more charges against him. Now he has fulfilled that deal. I'm saying he will be posthumously inducted into the hall of fame, probably next year. That is as it should be. I hold no animus concerning Pete Rose. 

  The basketball player I know very little about. I know that he was a big man and known for that height. The news says he changed the game of basketball and brought the sport to other nations as well. I'm hearing all the expected accolades about a professional athlete that has passed away. I'm thinking you have to have been a real fan to know about him though, he was never a superstar. It was reported he suffered from brain cancer. He was still young and gone too soon. We each have our time and can not know when that will be. Celebrity has no influence on any of that. 

  Whenever celebrities pass away we all feel a sense of loss. Celebrities are like a part of the family. They are "relatively distant" but we like to claim some kinship. Whether that kinship is we admired their accomplishments or whether we actually "met" them at some point, we feel connected to them. It's a rather strange thing when you think about that. When I was young I had posters of my heroes in my bedroom. I would buy "gear" that represented them. I felt "connected" to them long before there was social media and tweets. The most I had was a card and an occasional interview I might see on television, or a magazine article. Seldom did I see any my heroes when they weren't being that hero. Larger than life is what we called that. I'm thinking a great deal of that is lost in this digital age. There are few secrets these days. We have lost three celebrities. The tributes will follow, as they should. It is a collective loss in American society. Names we heard growing up. To some a "favorite" relative and to others more distant. Still, we all feel related somehow to that fame. It's strange thing.