We’ll surely miss Prince

A lot of people were wistfully sharing stories, memories and thoughts about Prince on Thursday, reacting in their own ways to the news of his sudden, and very untimely passing.

Celebrities pass away all the time, of course, but this was something more awful than usual. Was it that he was so young, to go at 57? That was part of it, sure. Was it the loss of such a longtime popular-culture icon? Probably.

For me, it was the realization that the world has lost someone that I’d always considered an actual, honest-to-goodness genius. That’s a word that gets tossed around a bit carelessly these days, and which has lost some of its kick. But while there are a great many extraordinarily talented people in the world, there are few true geniuses. I don’t feel like I’m going very far out onto any particular limb to suggest Prince was one of them.

Alas, R.I.P. Send me your thoughts on our loss: rrollins@coxohio.com.

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