Goodbye Ms. Fawcett, Mr. Jackson

25 Jun

I had a few post ideas that I was going to pursue for the this here blog tonight. All of those ideas have become overshadowed with the news of the deaths of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson.

Charlie’s Angels (the original) was before my time so I was never a big fan of Fawcett’s work. I knew who she was from catching stories about her on Entertainment Tonight or online. I don’t think I ever saw a movie that she was in; at least I don’t remember watching anything she starred in. Not being a big fan didn’t mean I wasn’t saddened by the news of her death this morning. Fighting cancer is horrendous and her three year fight was no doubt filled with immense pain and fear.

I was at my parents’ tonight when my dad told us Michael Jackson had died today. He (my dad) was on the phone with his brother who had heard it on the radio. I immediately turned on the local news and caught the headline in the channel’s scrolling news ticker.

Unlike Farrah Fawcett, I have memories of being a Michael Jackson fan. My brother had his albums (on tape) and when he wasn’t using his Walkman, I was allowed to listen to his tapes. I remember listening to the album “Bad” over and over; I probably wore the tape out.

Then, as the years passed, things just got weirder and weirder. The plastic surgery, the fading skin colour and of course, the child molestation accusations. I have to admit, after the allegations were made against him, he became tarnished in my eyes. Maybe the charges were false and were merely a ploy for money by the children’s families. I couldn’t enjoy his music or his art form anymore. As time went on, I no longer saw the entertainer who blew us away with his video for Thriller and his moonwalk, but the freakish man-child who continued to live in his own reality.

While I wish that he rest in peace, I’m not as saddened by the news of his death as some other people. I’m sure his death will dominate the news for the next several days. Already there are rumours floating around about him being addicted to medications and what really transpired this afternoon before he went to the hospital. It seems his death will be as much as a circus as his life was.

Hopefully, his children will be taken care of and his family will have the privacy needed as they deal with their loss.