RIP Mr. Garvey

So two Hollywood stars died this week: Corey Haim and Merlin Olson. I'll not comment on yet another idiotly troubled child actor who coked his life away and, surprise surprise, seems to have died from a lethal mix of OTC and prescription drugs.

Mr. Garvey, however...Who, you say? Well, if you're not a die-hard NFL fan who remembers Merlin Olson from his 70's LA Rams days, perhaps you'll remember him as Johnathan Garvey on Little House on the Prairie. The tragic Mr. Garvey, whose beloved wife was killed in a fire along with Mary and Adam's baby...

Yes, I'm a geek.

Anyway, it seems to be a week of death. Ray's father passed away this week also, so our weekend will be filled with memories from Dave and Ray's pasts, probably a lot of alchohol, and a funeral. Sad, and not unexpected (as he was an alcoholic most of his life), but I feel for Ray. I can't imagine how awful it is to lose parents, and this is his second.

Spring and fall are often the seasons of death and rebirth in a literal and mystical way. Lilies are poking their brave little green shoots up through the snow in my front gardens, rain is melting away the last of winter, and yet while the land is waking up some souls are returning to sleep. Transition is hard to deal with, I think, for a tired existence, regardless of the body's physical age, but I've noticed over the years that most of the elderly in my life (directly and peripherally) have died during the major season change, not during the depths of winter. Perhaps those who passed this spring are making way for growth to come and we're just not aware of the impact yet.

Hopefully, the souls passing during this Equinox season are at peace.