“Janice and I lived in our home since 1979. We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that can’t be taken away.”
This one hit me hard. I wish what Billy said was true, but it isn’t that simple. As we get older, it gets very difficult to remember everything clearly. When people say “a house full of memories”, what they really mean is a “a house full of memory triggers”. Mr. Crystal, his wife, and his children have lost a lot of those triggers to the fire.
I might be silly and sentimental, but this made me genuinely very sad.
Respectfully, I have a hard time wrapping my head around someone grieving over the loss of a home for someone they’ve never met strictly because they’ve seen them in a few movies. I don’t know how many thousands of people lose their homes every year but the vast majority of them are not in a position to purchase another over night.
No doubt, losing a home is a horrible traumatic event for everyone. Personally, if I don’t have the space in my heart to grieve for every family’s loss, I don’t have the room for one celebrity.
Perhaps we could take this time to reflect on the importance of a stable home and the opportunity to create family memories and consider those who’ve never had that to begin with. In fact, I’d venture to guess this is exactly what Crystal would want us to do. As host of Comic Relief, he’s helped to raise awareness and money for the homeless like few celebrities have.
