I went to bed last night mourning the death of Farrah Fawcett, and woke up this morn mourning the death of Michael Jackson. What?!?I'm still in shock. Me. A lover of popculture icons. Dead. Two of the world's most recognizable P.C.I.'s gone forever.
I don't want to dwell on what they died of, who they left behind, or what controversies trailed them. Instead, I want to focus on the feel good memories that they gave me in my youth.
Farrah Fawcett (1947-2009). For me, I want to remember her at her most beautiful. THE poster girl in the red swimsuit, flashy smile and sumptuous mane that 70's gals wanted to be and guys just wanted. Her image was everywhere. Posters. T-shirts. Mead notebooks. Lunch boxes. Basically, any printable surface.
Catapulted to fame on the first and only season of her stint on Charlie's Angels, I remember arguing with the girlfriends of my youth because I wanted to play Jill, but got talked into playing Kelly (Jaclyn Smith) instead because I had dark hair. Sigh. It sounds so silly now, but I remember wanting to be someone sooo incredibly beautiful.
And then there was the larger-than-life icon of Michael Jackson (1958-2009).
His legacy of music will live on forever. Forget the eccentricities of the man, and scandals that plagued his adult life. I play his songs and get transported back in time when I'm dancing in front of my parents' console tv.... trying to copy the moonwalk, but failing miserably. Proud of the fact, however, that I taught my then 9 y/o brother to do it. So proud, that with my hard earned babysitting savings, I dressed him up like a MJ-Ken-doll by buying him the "Beat It" ensemble of black parachute pants, t-shirt, and "pleather" facsimile of the "Beat It" jacket that he wore to school on his first day into the 4th grade. LoL.
I want to remember them in red; the color that tied them to their success and iconic image. Her in her infamous swimsuit. Him in his notorious jacket. Together these images help heal the sadness I'm feeling today and allow me to embrace their lives... and what they made me feel, along with the rest of my generation when we remembered a time that was more simple and devoid of adult worries. Yep. That's how I want to remember them....
