Who Died Today?

What do David Bowie, David Margulies, Alan Rickman, Dan Haggerty, and Glenn Frey all have in common?

According to Worldometers, they are among the roughly three million people who have died since this month (and year) began.

Because these people were all celebrities—Ziggy Stardust, the mayor on Ghostbusters, Professor Snape, Grizzly Adams, and a founding member of The Eagles—their deaths were noticed by the masses. And the fact that they all departed within the same seven days of each other has sent Americans into a frenzy of social media sendoffs.

But again, three million more people have passed through the same mortal portal since the Gregorian calendar changed from 2015 to 2016.

While it’s slightly alarming to think the number of deaths in over two weeks is the equivalent of 79% of the entire population of Los Angeles, about seven million people have been born since the month/year began. That’s about 82% of the population of New York City replacing them in the same amount of time.

So what does it mean? It means that while seven million people have begun the exciting but difficult journey of life this month, the stories of three million others have come to an abrupt end, whether expected or unexpected. Whether accidental, intentional, or natural. Whether their stories were written down or not.

A few months ago, I started interviewing a 71-year-old mother/grandmother/farmer about her life’s history. The three interviews I’ve conducted—so far—have each lasted two hours a piece, making over six hours of recording on her life. The single-spaced transcript, in Word, so far has the word count of a novel—over 50,000 words. But to put it another way, this 71-year-old has only filled 99 pages—making not quite a page and a half for every year she’s lived. I know for a fact her life’s story could fill volumes. As it is, I have a grocery list of questions I still haven’t yet asked her.

While she’s still recovering from recent shoulder surgery, her health is fair—besides the aches and pains that accompany being a septuagenarian. And yet anything could happen. Cancer could quickly invade her body—which it has done to countless people in the area. A car accident could snuff out her life. I have another interview scheduled with her this week, and I can't wait, especially now that I realize at least three of the celebrities who died this past week were younger than she is.

So her story must continue to be told. And so should yours.

So who died today? A lot of people. Make sure that you give your loved ones an extra-long hug today and ask them to tell you about the story of their lives. Because you may not see them again tomorrow.