Ok,
so I'm going to depart from the normal post and get serious for a moment: Whitney Houston is dead and I cannot deal with it. Are we related? No. Did I ever meet her? Hell to the no! So I guess you're probably wondering why I am being all emotional over this death. I am too. I haven't felt this way about a celebrity dying in awhile. There are a few celebrity deaths which really struck a chord with me. Among those, Aaliyah, and Michael Jackson. Aayliah was someone close to me in age and her death was so sudden and a shock that it hit me hard. Michael provided the soundtrack for the early years of my life and I felt like I grew up with him. I guess Whitney falls into the Michael category.
Tonight my super connected friend, Alica, sent me a text saying "Did Whitney die?" I immediately was chalking it up to yet ANOTHER celebrity being proclaimed dead by the hard hitting journalists of Twitter. Hell it just happened to Bobby Brown a few weeks ago. I replied with a "doubt it" and a second later she countered with "Confirmed" I still wasn't ready to buy it. I needed to see it on a CNN, MSNBC or some other major news outlet. The fact that my Facebook ticker flooded with "RIP Whitney" should have had me reach the conclusion sooner, but I was denying it until I got the proof I needed. Then the proof came. I could no longer deny it, but it still wasn't real to me. I sat in shock as my phone sounded off with numerous phone calls and text messages, many coming from people I rarely talk to/text.
As it sank it, I got pissed. Like seriously? I mean she survived what seemed to be the worst. How many of you remember that Michael tribute where she showed up looking like death and everyone was like "Ok, Houston, we have a problem"? She came back from that. Put out a CD and sat with Oprah and came clean about her drug use. Hell, even in recent interviews talking about her new movie, "Sparkle" Whitney was looking positively plump in the face. I couldn't even crack on that, as I thought "it's hard to gain weight and be strung out on crack" Hell, she was out with her on and off again boo, Ray J (yes Brandy's brother and Kim Kardashian's ex dick dealer) So here I am thinking that all is well in Whitney's world and that she was gearing up to come back to movies and music and then the carpet is yanked out from beneath me!? What. The. Fuck.
I pretty much skipped the bargaining stage. I love the woman but I am not trying to be all "why her and not me?" I'm a fan, not a damned fool. I went into the depression, where all seemed so bleak. I put on some Whitney as I began to type this and started thinking of all the music she had to offer the world. I mean, she was 48. If Aretha and Dionne Warwick are still alive and singing, so could she. I thought of her daughter losing her mother way too soon. I think what I thought about was the way she will be remembered. I mean after her being on "Being Bobby Brown" I know that many see her as nothing more than a joke. I may joke a lot about Whit and reference Being Bobby Brown on a daily basis, but I still had a love and respect for the woman. In fact, I was cheering the loudest when she left him and started making a comeback. Right now I think of watching the show with Mama Blake and her not wanting any part of it, because it made her sad. She didn't want to see someone she held in such high esteem debased to nothing but a cartoonish crackhead.
I am now on the road to acceptance. Sorry Miss Houston for reveling in your Diane Sawyer interview. I would totally watch it and memorised a good chunk of it. Sorry for loving Being Bobby Brown and for still saying things like "KiSSMYASS!" and "Not Todaaaaaaaaaaaaaay" You were just so damned quotable! I think for me, it was just nice to see you being normal on some level. You always came off as so polished, but it made you more human in my eyes and made my love for you that much stronger. I still listen to your music and it still affects me. Your "My Love is Your Love CD" reminds me of being in London and makes me smile every time I hear "It's Not Right, It's Not OK" You have so many songs that just put me in a great mood or songs that I can sing when I am feeling really sad and dramatic. Your rendition of our national anthem remains the best in my eyes (Sorry Beyonce) and gives me chills over a decade later. That isn't an easy feat. Your voice is a classic gift from God that the world will miss. I guess God's chorus just gained another featured soloist. R.I.P Nippy.
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