Postcards from Far Away

Okay, so we all know Whitney Houston died, and it’s pretty sad. It’s actually really sad. I am also not going to say, “OMG. Whitney Houston died. I was always such a huge fan. I will always love you, Whitney.” That’s not me.

I’m not going to lie and pretend that I was a huge fan. I remember my mom loved The Bodyguard, and we had the soundtrack on a cassette tape. i think I was about six or seven then, but even at the time, I could appreciate the pure talent. I think I wrote that “I Will Always Love You” was my favorite song on some class assignment or something.

Then I didn’t really think too much about her for the next few years. I remember hearing how she’d married Bobby Brown and gotten into drugs and had basically destroyed her voice. That is really, really sad. Yes, it’s her fault for starting with drugs. You always have the choice whether or not to start, but addiction is a disease, and it is terribly sad that she made the decision. It is terribly sad that she became addicted. It is terribly sad that celebrity took its toll on her, as it takes its toll on so many others.

Then “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” was part of the soundtrack I made after my study abroad in 2008 because it played in every club we were in for six weeks. And I danced to it with ALL the boys (I am not proud of a lot of my behavior on that trip). Because, dammit, I wanted to dance with somebody.

When I heard that she’d died on Saturday, I was, like many people, not surprised, (However, I was more surprised than I was when I heard Amy Winehouse died) but I was still sad. Damn. Someone died. Whitney Houston died. She was doing better, but she died.

I also made fun of her for her infamous “Crack is Whack. Crack is Cheap. I Make too Much Money to Do Crack” Diane Sawyer interview, just like so many other people.

But damn, Whitney Houston died while I was out shooting tequila.

For some reason, I feel like small bit of my childhood died because I remember singing along at the top of my lungs while I played “I Will Always Love You” on my parents super-70s stereo.

I promise to only listen to that song six more times today.

Her death is really bothering me.