Watching Your Heroes Die

It does me too. 💐

It's always a shock to see a "hero" as they are now. I only see them in my mind as they were. So it's even more of a shock when one dies. Glad to readnothers feel the same.

I read somewhere that the older family members are at the top of the hill shielding the younger ones from the wind...that's me now up at the top. Still useful hopefully.

My grandfather lived to nearly 100, and my lovely MIL is now 101. Both have said that apart from the inevitable physical frailty that comes with age (it’s not for sissies, according to my MIL!) the worst thing is that there is nobody left who shares your experiences. In her case, that means nobody who was brought up by a hill farmer in a very remote area. Nobody who remembers being a teenager in the war. Who knows the songs, the films (and cycling home on unlit rural roads afterwards) and so on. People who ate the same foods, wore the same clothes and had the same memories. She is now the only living person who remembers her husband as the young man who loved her. My own husband came along later, but needed to grow up a bit to have his own memories as the eldest child (and anyway, his memories would not be hers!)

I didn’t fully understand my grandfather, as I was a lot younger, but as I’m getting older myself I empathise with MIL. I am 34 years younger than she is, but it’s starting to make sense. I will miss her so much when her time comes.

Apologies, haven’t read full thread. Just wanted to give a big shout out for the fabulous Michael Palin. Going strong.

People who are younger than me dying is always a bit depressing. Anthony was nine years younger than me - why am I still here? But I could say the same about friends and family.

My two closest friends died within a few months of each other when I was in my early 50's. It was such an incredibly sad time but once I'd got over the some of the grief I realised that they had given me a gift. I now live much more in the moment and as a result my life has become so much more fulfilling and I am a happier person. I still miss them and think about them both over 20 years later but I'm still here and I'm grateful for it. Life isn't a rehearsal, so my mantra is to make every day count as none of us know when today will be our last.

BlueBelle

I ve had a look on google Maybee and no I don’t know of Anthony Head and not seen him in anything I watch
The other chap is I see a BayCity Roller and that was my children’s era so no don’t know him either. I remember my eldest being a BCR fan for a little while.
Now David Bowie AGA I definitely know who he was

He was in the Nescafé Gold Blend adverts…

You've lifted my heart a bit, thank you Wyllow3. I'll try to keep your words in mind, you are so right!

Recent reminders of...."Live for the day".

Easy even trite to say, hard to do, but it is a reminder to me to try and spend limited energy on that which adds richness too the time we have?

It's also a test for many not already gone through it...of what is maybe the hardest of all, to know aspects of loss and suffering not encountered before.

But that snatched joy of birdsong on a sunny morning, the music that comes on and stops the heart, the love of family, friends, even if not seen a lot - oh so more precious.

Yes exactly this, and yes it is scary.
It brought it home to me at a funeral when a cousin said to me 'We used to sit here amongst the old uns' and we're the 'Old uns' now.

I don’t know of Anthony Head and not seen him in anything I watch

I thought the same, then recognised his facefrom long running Gold Blend coffee commercials on TV

Yes it's quite depressing and scary really. My OH and I were just saying the other day, the singers/celebrities we remember from our teenage years who were around 10 years older than us, are all dying off and pretty soon we'll be next up the ladder.
It does make you realise how short our time here is and to not put anything off that you want to do

incessantly

When I was in my 30s and 40s, I used to get so irritated when my parents and in-laws talked incessanctly about contemporaries who had died, famous or otherwise. Now I'm in the same boat! I try not to dwell on it or mention it to my DDs, I don' want to sound like the harbinger of doom...

BlueBelle

I ve never heard of Anthony Head or Eric Faulkner !
But I was sad to hear Jon Snow has dementia

A Bay City Roller! so long ago

would you have seen Anthony Head in the
Gold Blend Coffee ads, late 80’s to early 90’s ?

we watched a couple on youtube yesterday
so smoochie
so outdated
but good fun

According to Google, Eric Faulkner's still alive! If we're talking about the Bay City Rollers Eric, that is.

I know what you mean about heroes/former crushes dying. David Cassidy and John Hurt spring to mind for me.

It’s always a wake up call, but I think I was more shocked when I was younger, when famous people died who were young too, because you normally think about your own mortality a lot less then. Marc Bolan’s car accident sticks in my mind.

Maybe you can remember the fictitious romance of anthony head and Sharon Vaughan on the TV advert for gold blend coffee. It was a very popular advert

I ve had a look on google Maybee and no I don’t know of Anthony Head and not seen him in anything I watch
The other chap is I see a BayCity Roller and that was my children’s era so no don’t know him either. I remember my eldest being a BCR fan for a little while.
Now David Bowie AGA I definitely know who he was

It's also when your friends who are a similar age die that makes you realise that time is catching up.
I was sorry to hear Anthony Head had died at 72. I remember being saddened when David Bowie died at only 69.

When we were in our 50s, a contemporary died. Another friend said "Well, He's picking them from our field now." That stuck with me - our field is emptying out faster all the time!

You are definitely not on your own. I’m 67 and I open SM or look in the paper waiting to hear who died. It does make you think of your own mortality. But I think this happens to everyone as they get older.

Anthony Head is an actor whose name you probably wouldn’t recognise until you saw his face. I loved the Merlin series but wouldn’t have known his name from it.

I ve never heard of Anthony Head or Eric Faulkner !
But I was sad to hear Jon Snow has dementia

That’s very sad, I didn’t know that he had recently lost his wife too. Very difficult time for his family.