Gen X's Matthew Perry, the soul of America's first 'chosen family,' 'urban tribe,' passes

There's a generational effect with celebrity death.

And few personalities in the public eye were as inextricably linked with Generation X as actor Matthew Perry, who died at his home of a suspected drowning, at 54 (my age) yesterday afternoon. 

Most Gen Xers don't know Perry personally. But we know him in the broader sense. He was born just hours before m…