Was his life a triumph or a freak show? Will he be another Elvis?

What’s with all these celebrity deaths over the past 3-4 days? Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson on Thursday, June 25th and then Billy Mays this morning.

To a degree, celebrities tend to drive me over the edge. The entertainment industry which I came to know while growing up is in marked contrast to what we see, hear and experience today. I remember when entertainers, stars and musicians truly "entertained and performed" for, what appeared to me, the true pleasure of what they did.

My impressions have changed. The goal now seems to be fame, money, "look at me," beauty, sex, neon and bright lights, clothes  and at times just pure drama. Do the majority of the reality shows really entertain me? No and no. Am I star struck? No and no. Do I miss the Lawrence Welk show. Yes. Do I miss Mickey Mouse, the Little Rascals, Amos and Andy, Captain Kangaroo and I Love Lucy? Yes to all. And of course, Ed Sullivan and Red Skelton. They made us laugh, learn and help to appreciate life. Funny though. I find few TV programs which make us laugh anymore. I find few talk shows which help me to be a better person. I do find that many of the hosts of these talk shows are much like the entertainers. Power, money, control and narcissism. Oh, wow. Why does Oprah and Dr. Phil come to mind? Check out my post on Oprah here. (Yep. I admit that Dr. Oz on her show is definitely up and up. He knows his ’stuff.’)

And please don’t even ask me about the Academy Awards, the Grammies and the Tonys. Those with excessive love and admiration of themselves. Hey, please show and tell me how great I am and I’ll do the same for you (except I really don’t mean it in my heart). But yet, people can’t seem to get enough of the stars.

Of course I don’t blame all the stars. They depend upon the media blitz and hype to promote their agendas. What would they do without the talk shows, YouTube and Twitter? The media seems to fuel the fire which many Americans crave. I try to understand it all but it alludes me most of the time. And long before I was diagnosed with LBD.

Speaking of the media, let me get back to Farah, Michael and Billy. I remember well "Charlie’s Angels" without a problem. Need I say why? And that’s about it for Farah in my mind. I’ll remember Billy every time I think of or see Oxiclean.

And poor Michael Jackson. What kind of legacy will he leave? Looking at all of his fans now worshipping him after death makes me think I’m the odd guy out who isn’t with the program. (If we would worship God in the same way, the world would be a much better place). I probably won’t remember much of his music or dancing. Excuse me for being shallow for not appreciating his gifts to the world. It feels sad to me that the things I will remember Michael for are his deviations from the norm. Being erratic, peculiar, odd, and eccentric. I feel deeply sad and can only imagine his inner torment, confusion, chaos and demons with which he struggles. Was it from his past? Was he a victim of abuse? Was he a victim of his own gifts? How much control did he have over his childish behaviors and emotionally being a child even as a man? Of his distorted perception of his body and self image? He probably qualifies for the diagnoses of body dysmorphic disorder. How much of him was determined by nurturing or lack thereof versus many abnormalities of his brain cells and connections? I feel sorrow for his children who are innocent and had to be exposed to him not by choice. I feel sorrow for his mother. He was her son. I’m not sure about his father yet. I feel sad that people are trying to capitalize on his death to make money and for those people and some of the media who make public statements just to be politically correct. Rumors are only rumors until proven otherwise. Michael, I just hope you died in peace without any pain. I hope you had a strong spiritual piece to you and that you are in Heaven. I did respect you as a person.

Thankfully there are exceptions to all of this craziness. National Geographic. Educational programs. Public television and Mr. Rogers. And Whoopi, why can’t there be more like you. Someone who is unpretentious and says it just like it is! I won’t forget Sister Act.

Warmly………David

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