Today I heard on the radio that Natalie Babbitt, author of Tuck Everlasting, had died. I did not know she was still alive, yet I was sad for what might have been. Does this happen to you? I don't necessarily imagine the authors of my books as alive. (Maybe I did with the Harry Potter series, but how often does the author rise so fast and maintain a stardom like JK Rowling?) Then again, I don't necessarily imagine the authors as dead either. It is more that they are ageless like the characters in their books. NOTE: As soon as I learned about Natalie Babbitt, I rushed to the Google and was reassured to find out Katherine Patterson is still around, complete with Website and Facebook page to prove it!
But there it is. Authors, artists, actors, musicians, all of them, do age. And when they die, I am invariably taken back to our first introduction. Such a one-sided introduction it was, too. All my outpouring of emotion and trust. A relationship where I know them better than anyone else in my acquaintance. First, in the case of authors, they own my attention as I imbibe the words off the page. And then they show up at the strangest moments as I meander through life. Inexplicably, I know that they somehow know me since the characters are so often a reflection of my true self. Oh dear, did you think they were talking about you? Like so many people in my life, their death makes me wonder why I did not spend more time on our relationship when I had the chance. Good thing I can still find them hidden in the pages of their book, on the surface of their canvas, or in the lyrics of their song. Just like their characters, they can remain the age they were on their last page, brushstroke, or note. Everlasting. P.S. A short, very incomplete list of some people who surprised me by both being alive in my lifetime and by dying without saying goodbye. Knowing that I shared the earth at the same time that they were around has given me the reassurance of being part of something bigger than me: Natalie Babbitt 1932-2016 Maya Angelou 1928-2014 Gabriel Garcia Marquez 1927-2014 Pablo Picasso 1881-1973
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