Joan Rivers has died.

I wasn’t really a fan of her comedy, but her story is remarkable.  She graduated top of her class at Barnard and made a name for herself in a male dominated industry.  She was a trailblazer, a strong woman.  I admire that.

Death is so weird.  I remember when my grandmother died I was amazed that the next day everything was still moving, still living.  She was gone and yet life moved on.  I had to go to school, there was traffic, people were still making plans without Nanny.

My oldest has experienced her share of death at pretty impressionable ages, so we have this game.  When someone’s passing is too much to take, when the sadness of the loss hurts to the bone, we send them to “the island.”

She lost her orthodontist, a wonderfully warm man, before she even had her braces taken off.  She was confused and…