Innocence can be lost

A not-so-serious post and yet serious.

While B was making dinner, I happened to catch the end of The Cure on tv. And I remembered what a crush I had on Brad Renfro when I was 12 years old. So, wondering, "Where is he now?" I googled him and discovered that he had died earlier this year.

And I realized that, while I was not one of those oft lovestruck teenagers, of the few celebrity crushes I did have in my adolescent years,

all are dead.
Jonathan Brandis - b. 04/13/1976 d. 11/12/2003 (hanging)
Brad Renfro - b. 07/25/1982 d. 01/15/2008 (heroin)
Heath Ledger - b. 04/04/1979 d. 01/22/2008 ("abuse of prescription medications")

It seems notable, for me anyway, that Renfro and Ledger died just a week apart. Seems a rather morbid way of driving the fact that my childhood innocence is gone for good.

(Note: I don't include Nathan Chasing Horse among my celebrity crushes because he is far from a celebrity. Good thing too, apparently. And as far as I know, he is alive and well and an anti-drugs/alcohol role model.)