Thursday, April 21st, 2016. I now know what it's like to really, really feel the loss of someone famous. I came downstairs late this morning, having gone back up to read then fallen asleep. I got my coffee and jumped onto my computer to see a post on Facebook from moments prior by my high school friend Sandie, a link by TMZ stating that Prince died. Wha...? I saved room for it being a terrible hoax. Checked online and caught wind of Prince's plane landing early, a brief hospital visit, then him riding his bike the next day and dropping by Electric Fetus on Record Store Day. First report was of police investigating 'a death at Paisley Park.' I turned on The Current, who was playing a Prince song. I remember seeing the time on one report 12:57. The Current's Andrea Swenson came on and said, through tears, she got confirmation from another reporter close to someone inside. Prince had died. Age 57. They played The Beautiful Ones, then Sometimes it Snows in April. I cried and said out loud 'It's not even like we can be mad at him, he wasn't into drugs or anything.' Reports confirmed. The Current is playing Prince all day from 1-10 pm. I've been sobbing on and off since hearing the news; it's now 5 pm. This is a tremendous loss. It was raining this morning. The lakes and river were completely calm and still. The sun came out, then some powerful clouds rolled through unleashing more rain, more tears. Google is purple. The bridge is going to be purple. The Twins stadium and on and on and on. Purple. Written the day after: Grief hit me hard. I wasn't really in the mood for a dance party. But when we heard about the impromptu street party, we decided to go for it, hopped on the train and went to 7th St. I only melted into tears once; mostly it felt great to be among so many people who LOVE Prince. I danced, and it felt great. The tears are still here, but mostly I'm grateful. For Prince, for his place in our town, for his music, and for a lifetime of memories. Rest in peace, Prince. April 2026: I can now picture Prince old. Just watch his hilarious grumpy old man character in the official music video for his song, Come on.
