It's a sad day when you lose a friend
I've been pretty damn lucky in my life when it comes to losing people that have been important in my life. In fact, I've only had to deal with death once - when my Grandma Al died in 2002. But aside from that, I've never really had friends or family pass away. Unfortunately, though, I must now add a friend's name to the list of those gone before me: Raeanin Simpson.
I haven't actually seen her since - oh - 1990 or so when we acted in the movie "Little Heroes" together. After that, I would sometimes wonder if our paths would ever cross again, but they never did. I learned just today that Raeanin died in San Diego of a drug overdose on August 23, 2004. It is thought that the overdose was intentional... suicide. Raeanin was apparently very alone in San Diego because her body wasn't found until possibly two weeks after she died. It is a very sad story. Oddly, just this past June I had a sudden urge to reconnect with Raeanin. I didn't know anything about what she had done after "Little Heroes" except that she did another film called "Wind Dancer" just a few years later. I searched for her on the internet, I called and e-mailed different schools, I even called Craig Clyde, the director of both "Little Heroes" and "Wind Dancer" to see if he knew her whereabouts. But nobody knew and I never found her. Now I learn that it was only two months after I looked for her that she died, and part of me can't help but feel a little guilty. What if I had only been more persistent in my search to find her? Could I have done anything to make a difference in her life? Was my sudden urge to find her a call from God to help her - a call that I didn't really take seriously? Of course, I know that her death isn't my fault, but I still have this feeling that I might have been able to play a role in preventing it.
If you want to read a news story about Raeanin's death, you can find it here. But be warned, if you are an emotional person, it may well make you cry - particularly the letter to Raeanin from her mother.