farrah and michael: sadder still because they were tragic figures?

leave it to michael jackson to upstage farrah and steal her last moment in the spotlight. but as one radio announcer pointed out, MJ is getting all the attention because his death was sudden and unexpected. farrah's was not.

i got overly sentimental about farrah last night after watching the barbara walters special on 20/20. but not because i was a huge fan -- although i do have happy associations with her, the 1970s, and charlie's angels -- but because she went from this beautiful girl to a caricature of what can happen when you subscribe to hollywood's prescription of plastic surgery, pills, and people who are not good for you.

this is how i like to think of farrah:



not this:



and not just because she's older. i love it when people age naturally because then you can see some semblance of their younger self in their face. to me, in the last few years her skin looked stretched too tight. she no longer had the huge magnificent smile.

i think it's tragic that her one and only child is a drug addict in jail. i think it's awful that her partner, ryan o'neal, was arrested for doing meth with his own son. she had a rocky relationship at best with ryan, but it is terribly moving that they showed up for each other in later years when they both faced serious health problems. he was at her side when she passed, and his words about it ("she's gone. she now belongs to the ages") were perfect. a perfectly tear-jerking story that is all too real.

and michael. the very definition of hollywood tragedy. the very worst things that can happen when your parents pimp you out and no one is there to be your safety net.



my kids see pictures of michael jackson now and ask why does he look like that. why did he try to turn himself white. why does he look like a girl. what happened to him.

in no way would i ever give him or anyone a free pass for molesting children, just because some terrible things may have happened to him. but who were those parents who let their children go to his home? and let them spend the night? they are just as much a monster as he was, if not more, because they knowingly put their child into danger and left them there. and for what? a possible lawsuit? a good time at neverland? please. there's always enough blame to go around.

i love his music, and so does most everyone i know. he just got progressively weirder as the years rolled by. he lost complete touch with reality. and i can't help but think that at least now, his three kids might have a better shot at some normalcy. depending on who gets them.

i don't think his death is tragic. i think his life was tragic. and sadly he'll be remembered just as much for his dark side as his fantastic music. that's the price of immense fame. a lion's den but as many free passes as money can buy. and it can buy a lot.

RIP farrah and michael. you need the peace.