Three That We've Lost

It has been a surreal morning. When I went to bed late last night, I went to bed with this thought. A great chunk of my American life’s popular culture memories are shifting right before my eyes.

Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson as we all know by now, have died recently and it has really got me in a pondering mood today. It’s eerie because they always say these things come in threes. Yesterday afternoon, Brit Boy and I were sitting watching Wimbledon on television and I was sort of in my own world a bit with headphones on listening to my music. Then the Jacksons’ song came on, “Blame It On The Boogie”, and I said to Brit Boy, ‘I can’t wait to see Michael next month and I hope that on our night he just happens to bring his brothers onstage for a reunion.’ We both laughed and thought how cool that would be. Brit Boy and I were going to one of the Michael Jackson concerts in July and we were so looking forward to it. I want to pay tribute to all three of these iconic people in my life. So here goes.

Ed McMahon was a staple of American life. He was best known as Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show sidekick, but he also hosted Star Search which was a predecessor of some of the talent shows that we see on television now. My greatest memories were of being a kid in the 70s and watching The Tonight Show. I would get a chance to see it on Friday nights and during the summer. I was probably the only kid in my elementary school getting excited around midnight about watching Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson, and Doc Severinsen welcoming guests to the show. (smile) Before discovering The Tonight Show, I thought that everyone went to bed after all of us kids were sleeping. I thought the world stopped. LOL. Ahh, innocence. (smile)

Farrah Fawcett was an icon of my 70s childhood. Brit Boy and I often relish our memories of our 70s childhoods and 80s teen years. What a great time it was. (smile) We always say that those 70s shows of our childhood were truly iconic and really define the era. To us, and I’m sure many others, those shows will never get old. I wanted to be a Charlie’s Angel and the Bionic Woman when I was a little girl. I would act out each episode after I saw them. I loved it because these shows had women doing things that I would love to do. They were so cool. (smile) When I found out that Farrah was married to Lee Majors(the Six Million Dollar Man), and realized how that fit with him being the Bionic Woman’s television boyfriend, I was in 70s kid girl heaven. (smile) It was my own mini “six degrees of Kevin Bacon” with a few less degrees. I just loved her.

And last, but definitely not least, there’s Michael Jackson…the King of Pop. I am like most people in the world today….completely stunned. Brit Boy and I found out about him going into cardiac arrest on Twitter, right after we learned of Farrah Fawcett’s passing. And incidentally, we found out about Ed McMahon on Twitter too, so social media is really making its presence know. Once we heard about it, we turned on CNN, Sky News, and the BBC to get the latest and we watched until late into the night. We were both absolutely stunned.

Brit Boy and I had bought tickets to one of his London comeback shows and were to see him exactly four weeks from today. I was getting ready to share the news here on my blog today in fact. Neither of us had ever seen Michael Jackson perform live and now that will never be.

I grew up hearing his music with his brothers and his solo work and it truly was a soundtrack of my life. I had my “Big Three” of my teen years that I had always wanted to see and in the last couple of years, I had finally seen two of the three…Prince and Madonna. I hate that that circle won’t be completed, but I hate more that a musical legend is gone. No matter what some may think about the controversies in his life, you can’t deny his sheer talent and his musical contributions.

I have one more memory about Michael Jackson and his brothers. When I was a little girl and my dad was still alive, he used to always think that everyone was the Jackson 5. My dad didn’t watch much television and so when he would walk through and we were watching a music group on television, he would ask, “Is that those Jackson boys?” (smile) It didn’t matter who it was as long as they were male and singing. (smile) My dad was a character.

So I just wanted to give my two cents on the passing of three people who were a big part of my collective memories as I grew up in America. But I know that I’m not alone in my memories around the world. Michael Jackson and his brothers have had me dancing my whole life.

Thanks to Ed, Farrah, and Michael for entertaining me and many others for all these years. Rest in peace to all.

Please check out Brit Boy's post too for his Michael Jackson tribute.

Madonna's Opening Night

The Madonna concert was fantastic. She definitely proved that she can still perform with boundless energy, at whatever age she is. Brit Boy and I both said that we would love to have as much energy as she does and we are quite a few years younger than her. After witnessing Madonna do her thing and seeing the end of the Olympics, I feel the need to jump on a treadmill somewhere. (smile)

Much has been made about her turning fifty the Saturday before this, but she thoroughly made that a non-issue as she jumped rope, did a pole dance, and writhed around on stage as she has for years. And the girl can dance! (smile)
Madonna didn’t disappoint and was every bit as dynamic as I thought she would be. Here’s a woman who is a true performer and a definite pro. I have always liked her music and I have witnessed for myself just how amazingly she puts on a show. It is really something to see.

She came out to her song “Candy Store” and was sitting on a throne. What an entrance. A highlight was the bit when the fancy car was driven onstage and a party broke out. I don’t want to tell too much so that I won’t ruin it for those who are attending later. But it was fabulous. She did reworked versions of some of her past hits and she played guitar at some points.

All in all, it was a full circle moment for Brit Boy and me. We were teens in the 80s and Madonna and Prince were big idols then, so to come around and see both of them as adults is a great treat. And the great thing is that both Madonna and Prince are still doing their things and they just show me that great work goes on and lasts.

A Hard Experience

I am usually rather upbeat here in my own little corner of blogland, but something bad happened last night and I have to mention it because it made it hard to sleep last night or early this morning, when we finally got home from the concert. And I have also posted a happier entry about the Madonna concert, because she was just amazing last night.

I am always hesitant about writing about too much negativity here, because I don’t want to be accused of criticizing things here in Britain, as one who was not born here. But what happened to me shouldn’t happen to anyone and so it’s not an America versus Great Britain thing. It’s a human being thing. Usually here on my blog, I refer to my husband as “Brit Boy”, but we had a serious run-in and so for this post, he will be as always, my husband. (smile)

We had left the concert and we were headed to catch our coach back to Wiltshire. It was late, but we were walking along with thousands of others leaving the concert venue in Cardiff. It was nice to just be walking along with my husband, holding hands and enjoying the night. We walked along in peace for a while and then the crowd thinned out a bit as people fanned out on their own routes home. Our coach/bus was waiting in a park near the venue, so we had to walk along a lighted path along the river with dozens of others to get back there.

So we traveled along, minding our own business, walking along at a pretty good pace so we wouldn’t get left behind, but not running at all. We were just enjoying being together. These three guys passed by us and then their two other friends acted like idiots. The first of the two came up right in front of me and raise up and mimicked as if he were going to jump on me and hit me and then the coward walked on past us. Then the second one stopped dead in front of me and did this weird wiggly thing at me like he was thinking he was a ghost or something, put his hand in my face, and made a noise at me and trotted along to catch his friends as they all laughed. My husband called the first one a “suitable name” that I won’t repeat here. Then as the second one passed, I called him “yet another colorful word”.

Now anyone who knows me, knows that I am a peaceful person and so is my husband. And I hate to even write about us having to deal with people like this, but sometimes you can just get tired of the craziness. Those losers kept trotting and laughing over how “clever” they thought they were. And my husband and I just kept walking in the other direction, but I must admit, we were angry. I guess that we should have been a bit relieved, because we hear a lot about knife crime and how people who are minding their own business and living their lives are stabbed by losers on the street terrorizing others. The thing is, these guys didn’t look like some roving teenaged gang, they were dressed neatly like they were having a night out. This made it all the more disturbing to me. These were “normal” looking guys, but they acted like brutes.

I will say here, that I didn’t shed a tear, but it enraged me that I as a woman, as a human being, can’t walk along a path with my husband and many others and be spared this kind of assault or worse. And we are so glad that it didn’t turn out much worse. I’m sure there will be those who say, well be glad that you weren’t knifed or killed…we know that and I thank God. But still, it just angers me that there isn’t more respect out there. I don’t think that this is too much to ask. I am not talking about an idealized world. I do believe that most people are decent, but they are drowned out by the people who cause the strife.

Madonna Tickets

Well, after quite a few days of wondering whether Brit Boy and I would get our Madonna tickets on time, we finally got them today. (smile) I just realized that there is a Madonna theme happening here since I wrote about her in my last entry too. But that’s okay. I like her music. It’s good time music. Plus ever since we saw Prince last year, we figured that we would try to see as many music stars from our teen and young adult years as we could to kind of bring things full circle. Prince and Madonna were huge in the 80s, when we were teens and they are still going now, so it is great to get to see acts that we have enjoyed for years.

We bought our tickets weeks ago, but there was a holdup in the printing and basically we were running out of days before the concert. Then the doorbell rang this morning and I flew downstairs because I knew it was our tickets. It was funny though. I had left a bag of plastic bottles and one with cans at the front door that we were going to put out for recycling, and I had to move them out of the way to open the door. Well, when I moved them, they made a lot of racket. The mailman probably thought I was one of those people that loads their houses with trash and keeps it. When I opened the door, I thought that maybe he didn’t hear it, but he said, “Are you okay in there?” I laughed to myself.

So on Saturday, we are off to Cardiff to see Madonna. I have never gone to Wales, so it will be a fun experience.

Dara Torres and Madonna

This past weekend was full of many delights at the Olympics. I cheered along with everyone else over Michael Phelps’ achievement, but another story has also stood out so much for me, the story of Dara Torres. She is a 41 year old swimmer, who came out of retirement in order to go for the gold one more time. She became the oldest Olympic swimming medalist in the Games. She came away winning three silver medals and these were her 10th, 11th, and 12th medals in her career. She has now competed in five Olympics. Her story to me simply says to never put limits on yourself and to go for what you want. She has inspired many women, but I also feel that hers is simply a human story of continuing to challenge ourselves, whatever our age.

Also this weekend, Madonna made news as she celebrated her 50th birthday. Brit Boy and I are supposed to be going to see her on this coming Saturday and we are excited. I think it is great that she is still doing what she wants to do. I hope to still be doing my thing, whatever that turns out to be, at 50. (smile)Fifty is not old these days, but I heard this one entertainment report over the weekend and they had guests saying their two cents about her. Basically, one of them said that she should just take a bow and sit down now that she is 50. What silliness. Madonna has outlasted many and she is still going, so I say good on her. It is up to her to decide when she wants to stop, not some pundit. So I say rock on Madonna!

This weekend these two women celebrated a moment in their lives and have shown me, that age ain’t nothing but a number. We should all go for what we want, whether we are a woman or a man, no matter how many birthdays we have been fortunate to celebrate.