Observations on the passing of Robin Williams

Hi, Folks -
The abrupt passing of Robin Williams seems to have stunned the world in a way we perhaps haven’t seen before.
Comments vary, according to the age of the commenter and the particular place Robin occupied in his or her life.
On Twitter, some are saying, “Nanu nanu”. “Mork & Mindy”, the TV show that introduced Robin to American primetime audiences, originally ran from 1978 to 1982. During that time, anyone might suddenly utter Mork’s catch phrase, “Nanu nanu,” appropos of nothing, and most everyone would understand the reference, and smile.
Many are saying something like this, purportedly from Lady Gaga (who was born in 1986): “I almost cannot believe it’s true! Thanks for making my childhood fun.” Or like this, from “karen”: “I’m seriously crying cause Robin Williams made my childhood amazing.” These folks apparently knew Robin from his roles in 1995′s “Jumanji” and other films, including his voicing the character of the Genie in Disney’s 1992 “Aladdin”. Several Tweets are saying (a quote from the film): “Genie, you’re free.”

Some had bonded with Robin from his more serious roles. As I mentioned in another post, among the most poignant Tweets right now are ones that say only, “O Captain, my captain,” quoting from the most climactic moment in 1989′s “Dead Poets Society”.
Some knew Robin or knew of him from a slightly different angle. I hope you’ll be able to read the words in this image. What’s described there must have happened in 1995 – I’ll include the text (part of the Wikipedia page on Reeve) separately below the photo.

From Wikipedia:

Reeve went through inner anguish in the ICU, particularly when he was alone during the night. His approaching operation to reattach his skull to his spine (June 1995) “was frightening to contemplate. … I already knew that I had only a fifty-fifty chance of surviving the surgery. … Then, at an especially bleak moment, the door flew open and in hurried a squat fellow with a blue scrub hat and a yellow surgical gown and glasses, speaking in a Russian accent.” The man announced that he was a proctologist and was going to perform a rectal exam on Reeve. It was Robin Williams, reprising his character from the film Nine Months. Reeve wrote: “For the first time since the accident, I laughed. My old friend had helped me know that somehow I was going to be okay.”[61]

And, of course, folks in the entertainment industry at large knew Robin in a way different from those of us on this side of the larger or smaller screens we saw him on. Here’s a Tweet from Leonard Nimoy:

Leonard Nimoy ‏@TheRealNimoy
What a sad day. Shocking loss of Robin Williams. A brilliant talent and a gentle man. May his memory LLAP.

(“LLAP” is “Live Long and Prosper”. Comic Paul F. Tompkins was moved to quickly put his feelings into words, found here:
http://fusion.net/culture/story/hero-paul-tompkins-robin-williams-meant-938627
Here’s an excerpt that sums something up pretty nicely:

Robin Williams made me laugh so many times. So many times. When I was a kid, having problems of my own, feeling unpleasantly different from the people who populated my world, I found sanctuary watching this guy on TV who was celebrated for being a weirdo, for being an oddball, for being silly. He was praised for having a mind that produced delightful absurdities with great speed. No one told him to be quiet. No one tried to make him act like everyone else.He was a hero to me.

And, finally, there’s a comment below Tompkins’ article that describes what perhaps many of us are feeling:

The Cricket Nerd
Thanks, PFT. I don’t even understand my grief right now.

Indeed. Personally, I’m okay with all this, but I don’t quite understand what I’m feeling; and I do find there’s a sense of “a hole in the world” with Robin’s passing. I find myself wanting to say, “It’s too soon, man – come back, come back.”I suspect he won’t. So the best we can do is wish him Godspeed, and peace, and happiness, with significant gratitude for the many gifts of laughter and heart he brought to our lives.
Blessings.
–hobie