Why it's okay to grieve when celebrities die

When we see people grieve for celebrities it can be easy to dismiss their grief because we don’t know the role they played in their lives. Maybe Prince’s music got a girl through difficult years in middle school. Or Alan Rickman’s portrayal of Snape helped a guy work through a complicated relationship with his father.

From the outside, someone might ask how Floyd and I with our 19-year age difference could have been best friends, or how people can grieve for celebrities they never knew. When I found myself unable to sleep a few weeks ago, it was comforting and bittersweet to turn on the TV at 4 a.m. and see Floyd on “Law and Order.” For a brief moment, he was still here.