Odessa

A lot of celebrities have died recently - David Carradine, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett. Then Michael Jackson dies and eclipses the lot of them. Personally, I think these were all entertainment icons in their own right - all deserving appropriate remembrance.

I loved David Carradine in Kung Fu, he spoke to a gentler side of me. I still hope differences could be resolved without violence. And if someone is violent, let that be turned against them.

Ed McMahon was a comic genius. I sometimes thought he was more of a genius then Johnny on the Tonight Show. It was Ed that frequently pulled a gag gone wrong out of the crapper and made it work.

What would Charlies Angels have been without Farrah Fawcett? She spawned a hairstyle trend -the flip, with which my stubborn hair would not comply.

Then the is Michael Jackson. I have Thriller - on vinyl. There is no doubt that he was talented. He inspired a generation. Unfortunately his weirdness of late overshadowed his former glory.

With the passing of the first three there was sadness. In addition, with Farrah's long drawn-out illness and eventual death, an awareness of a disease that no one wants to talk about.

Michael Jackson there is a frenzy and despair that has not been seen since the death of Pricess Diana. I personally don't get it. I can understand feeling a loss of that we might not ever experience any new contributions he may have had. What I don't get is open sobbing and endless disbelief. I feel for the Jackson family - but I can in no possible way share their level of grief. And I certainly do not feel compelled to commiserate for hours about the loss of him.

Folks - get over it. Even if he smiled at you once or signed an autograph, he's not a friend or family. Get a grip.