I’ve heard about the rule of three with regards to celebrity deaths ever since Lemmy, David Bowie, and Glenn Frey all bowed out within a short time, and I’ll be 100% honest, I think it’s a bunch of bunk. It’s hooey. Now a similar thing is making the rounds since Betty White, Bob Saget, and Meat Loaf all passed on within a short time. It’s a coincidence, that’s all. I don’t believe there is any relationship other than the fact that these are all notable people. Betty White was just days away from turning 100 years old! It’s achievement enough just to reach 99 years old in the first place. I find myself thinking the same thing any time someone of very advanced years dies. I kind of feel like, past a certain point, a person is on gifted time. What I mean is, the average lifespan for an adult these days in the United States is 78.79 years. Average life expectancy worldwide is 72.6 years. So just living your life in America is enough to get you six extra years. Anything past that is a bonus. Which is why when a senior citizen dies I might mourn them but I prefer to frame it in the context of being appreciative they were around at all as opposed to sadness over their loss. Because, no matter how we might be in denial about it, there are two certainties in life: death and Texas. No, that’s wrong. Death and taxes. Bottom line, we’re all going to die. Hopefully we get a chance to do something in life before that happens. If you do then you’re fortunate.
People really do BS themselves about death, though. I think it’s because as a living person it’s very difficult to really conceive of the notion of death. Which is understandable; our own self-awareness colors our perception about all of our experiences. So it’s hard to imagine the world going on without us. Of course, that’s exactly what happens. It seems a little bit callous, even to me, to think of it in those terms, but it really is true. Like I said, we BS ourselves about it.
Wow, that got heavy. Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring the room down.
Death happens. And it’s OK. It’s part of the cycle of life. Of course I’m referring to natural deaths.
But seriously, let’s quit it with this rule of three stuff. It doesn’t exist. It’s just something people made up to justify the ineffable.
