Kim Walker is dead. Although this may not seen like much to you, it was a real shock to me. Even more surprising is that she died almost five years ago, on March 6, 2001, of a brain tumour. She was only 32.

I stumbled across this news while looking for info about Christian Slater for what I intended to be today's blog but will now have to wait for another time. Slater's greatest moment was as J.D. in "Heathers", and I was curious what had become of the Heathers not named Shannon Doherty. Lisanne Falk, a.k.a. Heather McNamara, continued to work until as recently as 2002, although not very often and not very spectacularly. But Kim Walker played Heather Chandler, and she was the one that terrified us, as evil as she was beautiful. Regina George learned her trade at the feet of Heather Chandler's ghost.

She didn't do much after "Heathers", most notable being a small part in "Say Anything" (which may actually predate her work on "Heathers") and a TV version of "The Outsiders" with future notables David Arquette, Michael Madsen and Billy Bob Thornton. I Googled her and ended up on the incredibly creepy but very informative www.findadeath.com, which offers a fair bit of material about her career, life and death, including a picture of her home and gravesite.

Slater was on my mind because of "Pump Up the Volume", another teen classic, but knowing that Kim Walker is dead sent me in another direction. Working in personal injury law (15 years as of yesterday), I long ago accepted that while there is no such thing as fate, random events beyond our control have a great influence on our lives. We can do everything right - eat well, exercise, avoid noxious substances, etc. - and an idiot driving too fast can come around the corner and end or ruin what's left of our life. Even more upsetting is when our own bodies betray us, as Kim Walker's did. I'm 41 now, and for most of my life I haven't eaten well or exercised enough, and discussions of noxious substances can only end in criminal charges. Yet, here I am, waking up with my stiff and sore bones and muscles to take on another day of a life that has more pleasures than disappointments. I don't know if Kim Walker took care of herself or if she was a good person or not. All I know is that 32 is too damned early to die. I could scream about the unfairness of it, but I won't. I'm just going to go home, and love and care for everyone and everything that matters to me. Because there are no guarantees how much longer I'll be allowed to do that, and I just don't want to miss any opportunities.