I’m not going to beat around the bush: My heart and soul are broken this week. To lose our beloved light of hope and kindness, then just a few hours later lose one of the best actors the world has ever seen… It’s hard. Both Dolly and Tim did a lot of things, even just looking at their careers, that have impacted the lives around them.

I will admit, while Tim is a huge hit, Dolly is the one I cried about. I hadn’t even truly begun processing her loss when the news about Tim broke. It’s taken a lot to keep moving forward so far this week, and it got harder hearing the voice of a character my grandmother loved passed yesterday as well, Peter Cullen.

I know it might seem a little unfair to mention him here but not include him in the title, but his loss hurts me because of the connection to my grandmother and my growing up with Optimus Prime. I was not as truly impacted by his (amazing) work like I was Tim Curry and especially Dolly.

I also know more big names than just these three have been lost this week, but they are unfortunately names that I am not familiar with even after looking up what I might know them from.

The first role of Tim Curry’s that I can remember seeing as a kid was from FernGully. His amazing work in his roll as Hexxus made a pretty large impact on a young me and helped it remain firmly in my memory as a great movie about the importance of caring for nature. Likewise, the Wild Thornberrys showed me new animals and parts of nature I hadn’t dreamed of before then, and watching Nigel’s enthusiasm for creatures was only matched in my mind by the love Steve Irwin had for even those creatures most of us would turn away from.

As I grew older and became aware of more of the world around me, I was introduced to Rocky Horror and IT. While I didn’t know at the time that they would end up being strongly connected to various parts of my life, they certainly were. Admittedly, I didn’t watch all of Rocky Horror until I was in my early 20s, and I still haven’t watched IT in any form. (I really just do not have the attention span for most television and movies. Even the stuff I do “watch”, I really kinda just throw it on in the background and kind of absorb it while I do other things unless it is EXTREMELY interesting to me.) But I am a writer, a lover of the supernatural, and in the LGBTQIA+ crowd. These movies, even if they did not directly impact me and I didn’t watch the one until most of my formative years were done, have had a large impact on the culture and world around me that resonates in many ways with who I am and who I am growing to be.

Honestly, I know there are even more roles Tim did that have impacted me, but as I write this, it’s hard to enumerate it all. The man was a truly talented actor, able to fit into so many roles, and there have been many times where it’s been a while before I realized it was him in a role I loved.

Dolly, on the other hand… Dolly has been an inspiration on how to be a better human for years. Her love and kindness for those around her, her want to help and inspire people, her work to improve childhood literacy, all of it is worthy of being the goals of all those around us. She has been a light of kindness and hope, her music resonating with many around the world. She was never afraid to uplift another person, give a kind word, share the spotlight with others. We’ve all been able to see wonderful things come from our beloved Dolly, and she will be thoroughly missed.

The music world has been rocked the last couple years by several important losses, and now, about a year after we lost our Prince of Darkness, we’ve lost our Queen of Country as well.

It’s easy to be absolutely shattered by these losses. Dolly is one of only a handful of celebrity deaths that I have legitimately cried over. She likely won’t be the last, though I can only think of one for sure off the top of my head. I think it’s also easy, and I feel like I’ve seen this commented here and there since Tuesday, to think that there are no other people of that level of light and love to fill this massive hole Dolly leaves behind. But I also know I’ve seen this sentiment over others we’ve lost in my adulthood. But I also think that’s not actually true.

This post has already gotten longer than I’d intended, and I still have more I want to include, but that is a creative writing piece I’ve put together that’s inspired by the emotions I’ve experienced these last couple of days. I’ll include that below, but first, let me leave you with my final, out of character thoughts.

People like Dolly Parton and Tim Curry impact a lot of lives, through their art or how they interact with the people around them. We see what they do, and it can shape how we go forth and engage the world around them. They aren’t the first impactful people we’ve lost, people we’ve learned from and grown from interacting with their work. I hate to say it, but they won’t be the last. Most of us will never have the reach and impact that these amazing people have had, no matter how hard we try.

But we don’t need to. We don’t need to be award winning artists, chart topping musicians, or phenomenal actors. What we need is to be kind, caring, and looking out for each other. Through being the best humans we can be, we honor their work, their lives, and their memories. And I don’t know about you, but that’s what I want to do from here.

We have more amazing people growing around us every day, big and small. People who, without any regard of what it will do for them, go out of their way to help others and teach those around them. Let us mourn those beacons we’ve lost, but not lose sight of the lights growing around us.

Let us all support and uplift each other, help those lights grow brighter and shine for all to see. Let’s all be better humans.

Thank you for reading. I don’t get a lot of views here, partly because I’ve struggled to be consistent with my posts. But my goal has never been to reach people far and wide. It’s just been to help anyone I can, even if it’s just one person whose life I change for the better by writing my stories or sharing my thoughts. And now, I’ll share a bit of a combo of those. A short piece I’ve written that I think I’ll call “The Fall of the Old Guard”.

Enjoy.

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The Fall of the Old Guard

The world began looking bleak as the old guard fell. Their lives were spent inspiring the rest of us and improving the world around them, all coming to various ends as the years wore on. All of them were expected, give the age of the heroes we admired, except the guardian of nature, leaving us far too soon due to a tragic accident. He left his legacy in the hands of his loving family, who have carried on in his place, continuing to share the wonders of the world and the creatures we share it with.

These heroes of the people fell slowly, one-by-one, over the course of years until one, the seet grandmotherly type, joined the rest of our role models on the other side.

Not a one of the old guard had any special magic powers, no superhuman abilities. Despite this, each used what they did have to make the world better. They taught us to care for the other inhabitants of this world and the places they call home, how to respect and care for each other regardless of our differences, the importance of laughter and friendship, the necessity of helping defend those around us, what it looks like to gracefully accept a mistake and embrace the lessons it can teach, the magic of music and how it can break down walls between us, and so much more.

When the sweet grandmother left us, the world seemed to be growing darker and scarier by the day. Hostile forces on all fronts threatened violence, or simply to make some of us no longer count as worthy compared to those around us. It felt like one of our brightest rays of light had left us when we needed her most.

But she didn’t leave us empty handed. None of the old guard had. We still had all the lessons they’d taught us, the love for each other and the world at large that they had shown us, and we already had a new generation of heroes rising behind them.

Though my heart was broken, thoroughly shattered, when our grandmother went where we could not simply follow, I saw the most important lesson the old guard had given us, one the new guard seemed to be embracing as well: Anyone could be a hero, give light to another’s life. You didn’t need to be rich or famous, and your actions did not need to be flashy or even noticed by any around you. A smile in passing, a hand up when we fall, a shoulder in hard times. Small gestures that may cost you nothing, may not even be much effort for you, but could mean the world to another.

While hatred and violence have become loud and impossible to ignore, I see everyday heroes rising to defend their neighbors, giving what they can to those in need, and pressing hard on people in charge to help and protect all people and creatures of the world.

There will always be people filled with malice and anger in the world. That is unlikely to ever completely go away. But as we learned from the old guard how to be better and do better, we too can teach those who come after us how to care for one another and the world as a whole. The more of us embrace the lessons of love, care, and hope the old guard has given us, the more of us become a part of the new guard, and the more we can pass down these lessons and help the next generations.

Each of us who follow the old guard’s ways grow the new guard’s ranks and honor their memories and legacies. We in turn become the heroes of love and light for those growing up around us, even if we only reach the kids nearest us.

We don’t need to be rich or famous. We only need to learn from our happy little accidents, be good neighbors, protect the beauties living in nature around us, be a friend, be kind, know how and when to share laughter and stories, and use our voices to call out the hatred and vileness in the world.

The light of our heroes must eventually fade, but they have given us each a lantern, flashlight, torch, or candle. Let’s all step up to fill the voids as the old guard we’ve loved and learned from pass from this world to the next. Together, we can shine the light of hope for the future and protect each other from those who would hurt any of us. Let’s use what we’ve been given, and light the world with hope and love.