So Long, Cowboy

I was rather surprised with myself last week and the amount of time I devoted to reading about the life and mysterious and bizarre circumstances surrounding the death of Australian actor Heath Ledger. Found dead at the age of 28 in his SoHo NYC apartment, the news of his passing made world headlines. Every night after getting home from newborn nursery, I would easily spend a good hour surfing the Internet, learning more about his life than I ever knew previously, reviewing his movie credits, and watching YouTube videos recapping his performances and interviews.

I can't really explain why I was drawn to reading about him to the extent that I did. Perhaps it was because we were exactly the same age (to be precise, I was his senior by just three days). Perhaps it was because we didn't hear about him in the tabloids and nightly news to the degree that we are inundated with Britney Spears reports. Perhaps it was because I appreciated his talent and cutting-edge roles (such as in Brokeback Mountain) and knew that we were only going to be seeing better, more "social commentary" performances to come. I glommed on to his story similarly to that of Princess Diana's over eleven years ago. A bright, caring, young talent (at least as portrayed on the surface and through the media) gone far too soon.

Heath's death reveals once again the craze that we, as an American society (am pointing fingers at myself here as well), devote to perusing and reviling the most intimate of details of celebrities' lives. We think that Africa is one country; we're not sure of the name of the nation to the north of us, and we might not be able to give the name of our first president. But we do "know" why Tom broke up with Nicole, what Lindsey Lohan needs to do to get sober, and that Brangelina should just go ahead and tie the knot. We hold the rich and famous to standards that we do not hold ourselves, fascinated by every minute detail. How suffocating an existence that would be. It's not an excuse for the behavior of some, and we collectively agree that intrusion in to one's private life comes in exchange for leading the glitzy life ... but does this have to be so?

I am not sure what is going on in Heath's medical investigation or burial plans this week or how Michelle and Matilda are coping. I haven't had the time to do my research. But one thing's for certain, I'm sure going to miss watching him act. So ... so long, cowboy. May you rest in peace.