6.30.2009

Recap of a series of events that had little or nothing to do with me (or each other)

Monday: Metro accident. I take the red line on the way home, which was affected by the crash. I left after the accident, and just before I stepped out towards the escalator leading down to my train, my husband called to inform me. “Hm, okay,” I said, not knowing the full details. I stepped onto the train thinking “Oh, perfect for the news, they just love to blow things out of proportion.” Nope, this time it was legitimate. 9 people died and all I faced was a 45 minute delay. Don’t you feel like an ass when you assume it’s probably not a big deal? I do. It was the deadliest accident in the entire history of the D.C. metro system.
Oh, and Ed McMahon died that morning. I have him and the Saturday Night Live parody of him to thank for belting out “YOU ARE CORRECT, SIR!” in my loudest voice as a plebe, at breakfast and lunch tables whenever the table commandant answered a trivia question correctly. The West Pointers will know what I’m talking about. Anyone else reading this, sorry, there is nothing you’re missing. It really was as silly as it sounds.

Tuesday-Wednesday: The governor of South Carolina, who was AWOL, took a trip to Argentina. These two days were used to air his dirty laundry. He didn’t tell his staff. His wife had kicked him out. He sent emails and we have them. He likes tan lines. He likes 2 magnificent body parts. After 49 years of living, he’s kind of corny and uptight, even in a “racy” email message.

Thursday: Farrah Fawcett died in the morning. I didn’t watch her special chronicling her cancer treatment. I wasn’t a huge Charlie’s Angels fan, so while this is sad news, I wasn’t floored by it. Maybe losing a parent made me hard hearted. People die every day of terminal diseases and they don’t air their treatment specials on major networks. I feel a bit annoyed when people capitalize on their situation because their celebrity status allows it. Maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about. Anyway, this news was topped by the death of the King of Pop.
Yep, unless you’ve been under a rock, Michael Jackson died (I learned this through various Facebook status updates). I didn’t even own any of his music, yet I know so many of his songs. My sister convinced me that it wasn’t cool to like Michael. Actually I did like the Billie Jean video and I appreciate his music now that I am married to a fan. His dance moves were fluid. He was a natural talent. I’m more sad for whatever happened that made him change from that cute little boy and young man to the cosmetic surgery experiment he became.
The footage was nonstop. We even watched the helicopter carry his body from the hospital to the L.A. Coroner’s office. While I am guilty for observing something so macabre (complete with commentary), I realize there is this need to show all of it. Thanks, O.J. Now that everyone has seen the Bronco car chase live, we feel entitled to watch everything, even if it’s not all that interesting.
While this is sad news too, I am sorry to say that I didn’t see him making it to a ripe old age either.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I think he had no where to go but dead at this rate. He became a joke of himself. Shame that he had so many demons that destroyed the person and his life and morphed it into a character and his circus.

I was a bit sad losing both Farrah and MJ at the same time, but just for selfishness. MY childhood is now gone. Maybe that's where the sadness comes from. Full self-interest and vanity.

Never a big Michael fan, but I did appreciate his music and I do like many of his beats and dance moves. He possessed a talent that cannot be matched. And I am a jerk for convincing you it wasn't cool to like him. :D But it really wasn't.