Dead at 28

The media coverage of Heath Ledger's death is reaching the saturation point.

Every new detail is BREAKING NEWS -- the theories of how and why, the housekeeper, the massage therapist, Mary-Kate Olsen.

It reminds me of the media obsession over Anna Nicole Smith's death nearly a year ago.

This isn't a movie. This isn't a reality show.

Peel away all the glitz and the money from celebrities. They're no different from anyone else. They're human. They die. They leave behind grieving family and friends.

But the media can't seem to report on a celebrity death, an untimely or accidental or intentional death, without turning the tragedy into a circus.

Heath Ledger died Tuesday at the age of 28, possibly of an accidental drug overdose. Very sad.

Also on Tuesday, two men in Greenfield, both 28, were found dead. Also very sad.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Regional News Briefs:

Two men were found dead in a Greenfield apartment late Tuesday night and police said that they may have both died from drug overdoses.

A more conclusive cause of death will not be known until autopsies and toxicology tests are completed by the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office.

Police said evidence at the scene suggested a possible overdose. There were no signs of forced entry to the apartment in the 3400 block of W. Wilbur Ave. and no signs of foul play.

...Both men were 28 years old, according to Greenfield police.

There will be no media frenzy over their deaths, just a little blurb in the Regional News Briefs.

They weren't movie stars. They weren't nominated for Oscars. But they died at age 28, possibly from drug overdoses, just like Ledger.

So similar and yet completely different.

The cult of celebrity distorts even the most basic of human experiences.

Dead is dead. Loss is loss.