Gone Too Soon

I think over the last week God has shown us that no one is immune to completing the circle of life. It's the time that the circle gets completed that shocks us the most. We knew Farrah Fawcett's death from cancer was coming, Ed McMahon was close to 90....those we expected. It's the Michael Jacksons, Billy Mays and Steve McNair's that we may have a hard time wrapping our minds around. Jackson and Mays were both 50, both may have been accidental deaths (Jackson due to bad physician consulting on pain-killers and Mays from trauma to the head on a plane ride) and everyone can agree that it was way before their time. It's McNair's that I'm having a hard time understanding.

We're the same age. He's a bit more athletic than I, that's unmistakable. He was an established legend in Nashville and had his place in NFL history among some of the great african-american athletes and pioneers. He not only is one of the few first black NFL quarterbacks but, repeatedly over the last 24 hours, has been given credit for helping an NFL franchise get settled in Nashville after leaving a legacy in Houston, Texas. The Oilers became the Titans under his watch, the Music City Miracle occured under his watch, a respected team in the mid-South among a city that was only known for putting out country music came together under his watch. Today, a city mourns and also has questions.

The respected pioneer in a condo with a 20-year-old woman away from his wife and 4 children on a holiday weekend in another state? Granted, Nashville is partly McNair's home but, the more information we get over what happened between Thursday and Saturday, is beginning to leave a dent in that legacy. We all are guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Steve McNair should have been with his family. He should have been sharing burgers and stories and fireworks with his family. There's obviously more to the story than what we know now or may ever know. The sad part is that it may have been averted.

It's sad that, once somebody passes away, it's at that time where we really know what a person is about or what they have done. Similar to Michael Jackson, we will choose to remember the great moments, stories, pictures and memories that we have of these celebrities. They could have still been so great but, unfortunately, have gone too soon.