Michael Crichton Cheated Us Out of Goodbye

SuperGenius author and entertainer Michael Crichton died this week. He was 66. Cancer killed him.

Unfortunately -- Michael kept his illness a secret from the public -- and we take issue with that selfish hiding as we argued earlier this week on RelationShaping:

I understand the want to keep your sickness to yourself -- but when you're famous and when you require the goodwill and the readership of the people to keep you in business, I sort of feel you're required to give them a chance to say goodbye to you since they are the ones that gave wealth to your life....

Celebrity is a difficult line to tread. You cannot expect privacy for yourself, but you can demand it for your non-famous children and family members. When you choose to make a living in the public eye and in the wallets of your readers and fans -- your life belongs to them, not you -- and you owe them the same honesty and consideration that you provide your immediate family because that's the meme that's created with fame: You want the spotlight and the riches and the adoration and once you get it, you belong to those other than you.

We miss Michael Crichton already -- but we cannot help but knowing in our lives what he missed in his death -- he bungled his epilogue and stained his greatness forevermore.