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Paul Walker and Roger Rodas

You know, I don't know why this bums me out. Whether it's all the media reports, or photos going around, I can't stop reading and being saddened by what happened. I didn't know Paul Walker or Roger Rodas (I have a friend I've known for 10+ years who races cars and hung out with Paul Walker a little bit – that's it), but they both seemed to be really, really good guys. Yet I don't know anything more, apart from what I've read.

People die every day and there are tragedies everywhere – in arguably more dire situations, we don't think twice about. I don't know what draws me in – whether it was the way they died, which would be one of the worst ways to go – unconscious and burned beyond recognition. Maybe it was that they died in a manner similar to how Paul Walker made up most of his career through the F&F movies – the irony pulls in a way I can't resist. It's just too eerie. I mean, they should've been able to get out of the car, just like in the movies. Seems like a common movie plot – jump out of the car and get away before the car blows up – but they couldn't. People couldn't pull them out, fire extinguishers weren't enough. They were trapped. It was too little too late and it didn't didn't make a difference. That's not how movies are supposed to go. It was only a couple minutes earlier they had gotten into the car from the event they were at. The people still there reportedly could hear the crash. It was so close, his daughter heard it. Eerie.

Maybe it was that Paul Walker and Roger Rogas both did good things with the money they made – they were both philanthropists. The had families, children – but many people who die do. Maybe it was the cast, who appear to be like family on and off the screen (photos of Tyrese at the crash scene, Vin Diesel's speech at the crash site over a squad car speaker, other tweets, FB posts from cast members, etc.). Maybe that draws me in, but still – I don't know any of them.

I liked Paul Walker's character, I liked the F&F movies, but I wasn't some huge fan. Yet I still can't put my finger on why I'm drawn to this. People die all the time, but whatever the reason, this one has had me realize that anything can happen at any time. Things can end without a moment's notice – something as simple as driving across town.

When people would say similar things about death, I would nod my head and agree, but it wouldn't really sink in. I've had family pass away and while I've felt grief and sadness in largely significant ways, the sense of mortality has never clicked.

It's silly, but whatever the reason, for someone I never even met, it clicks. I won't change the way I live, but I'd like to think I'll come to appreciate it more.

RIP.

(Photos credit – CNN.com)

Tuesday, December 3rd, 2013 | POSTED AT: 5:32 AM
FILED UNDER: General