The death of James Gandolfini–aka Tony Soprano–certainly shocked us all last week. He was a gifted actor, an uber popular antihero icon and by all accounts a helluva nice guy. He will be missed on multiple levels. That said, it certainly was surprising when, on the NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams prefaced the lengthy news account of Gandolfini’s passing with this lead: “It was one of those ‘Where-were-you-when-you-heard-the-news?’ moments.”
That didn’t resonate. My short list of events so tragically traumatizing that they remain seared in detailed memory context is still limited to John F. Kennedy’s assassination, the Challenger explosion and the 9/11 attack. I hope I never lengthen that list.