These our actors . . . Are melted into air, into thin air.

The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on . . .

               - Prospero, "The Tempest"

I did not know Nicole duFresne, a young artist/actress of such promise and talent, but it hit me hard nonetheless. It doesn't seem possible that these things happen -- but such things do happen . . .

People complain about their careers, their relationships, their lives, forgetting the magic that is all around them, and I'm no different. Lately it's been too easy for me to become negative, about what I want, about my future. But I think I simply forgot that everyday is a chance to change things. I am able to do it: I can get up and on my feet, work, plan, take risks. I simply forgot that I can choose to face and embrace the challenges of my life.

I am so sorry, Nicole, that you no longer can do what I am so luckly to be able to do.

Grief (for a young woman that I never knew) and wonder (at the life I have): never let me forget how luckly I am or lose sight of what I have, and the magic that always surrounds me . . .