Today is another sad day in the writing world. First, Ray Bradbury, now Nora Ephron. Seems god needs some new material up there and decided to get some new writers to liven things up.

Nora Ephron's writing defined most of my younger years. Films like When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and You've Got Mail bring back memories of what it was like being young and idealistic. Shame she is gone.

While it is sad, and many will mourn, what she left for me and people like me is the love for the written word. Her words, smart and humorous, made me the writer I am today. One day I would love to be the kind of writer she was.

That is the great thing about writing. When it is your turn, your time to kick it in the clouds, leaving behind your words is your legacy. Memories fade, families splinter, and time eventually takes all the physical remains of what you left, but the words on a page, in a film, or on a blog somewhere in cyberspace are etched, like a long lost friend waiting to find you again.

In the words of Nora Ephron:

Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim." (Nora Ephron to Wellesley's c/o 1996)

picture from CNN.com