……..”She looked delicious but also a little carnivorous, her gleaming white teeth frozen in a friendly but slightly feral smile…… The pinup of Ms. Fawcett in a red one-piece bathing suit, tanned, head tossed, body lithe yet curvy, was a revelation.”

…….Jackson’s death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music’s premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.

Two short quotes from news articles saturating the networks today grieving the loss of two celebrities who rose to ‘phenom’ status only to tragically plummet.

One was a ‘sex-symbol’, the other a musical genius…. both reportedly behind the scenes grappling with abuse issues and ultimately the integration of who they really were on the inside, and the paper thin perception and persona plastered on billboards around the world. Michael Jackson was a little boy lost who confessed to having no clue about ordinary life, finding his safety on stage… “I would sleep there if I could… it’s the place I feel most secure.”

My heart grieves today… for their deaths capture so poignantly the bizarre emptiness of a world that craves gratification and will go to any lengths to have that craving gratified. There’s no mystery here. Human beings cannot survive the pressure on the false pedestals of god-like status fame and celebrity create. Suddenly the spotlight – so intoxicating, desired and pursued becomes an intrusive searchlight; in the relentless heat of its x-ray eyes the make-up melts and human flaws and insecurities blotch the perfect photo-shoot. Eventually not even skilled touch up artists can hide the blemishes or lip-sinc over the blurred lines and slurred words.

This morning I have no interest in throwing stones, making judgemental comments, or condemning anyone…. There is great mystery here… That God so loved this screwed up world that his son would enter into this frenzy to show another way…. how to live from the inside out… how to find peace in the discordance we experience between who we are and who we desire to become…. “Apart from me,” Jesus said, “You can do nothing…  Father forgive them, they know not what they do…. Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world…. Come to me all you who are weary, tired, heavy-laden… and I will give you rest.”

If Michael and Farrah rose from the dead tomorrow… I wonder what they would say about who should be centre-stage?

Jesus (now there’s a celebrity – the one-and-only) did make the ultimate comeback/resurrection…… and people are still talking….. changed my life that’s for sure…..