DEATH OF A CENTERFOLD
The death yesterday of Anna Nicole Smith at the age of 39 was both shocking and almost predictable, given the astonishing turmoil of this young woman’s life.
I have read and heard some amazingly nasty comments essayed about the death of this young woman. I found them reprehensible in the extreme. This was a human being above all else, albeit her appearance and demeanor seemed almost cartoonish at times. She was an 11th grade dropout whose only currency was beauty – and that she had. She was seriously uneducated and, from all appearances, not blessed with much intelligence. But she gave life her best shot and her largest mistakes seem to have stemmed from allying herself with some questionable men. From today’s perspective, perhaps her smartest decision was her marriage to Billionaire Marshall who seemed to sincerely care about her – although not enough to make his final wishes explicit on paper!
The death of her son, in her hospital room, 3 days after the birth of her daughter seems to have been the final blow in a life that was marked by persistent striving. The death of one’s child is the cruelest blow a woman can suffer – and the newborn daughter for whom she was responsible clearly was a comfort, but in the end no substitute.
As to the two men in her life: Howard K. Stern strikes me as a somewhat murky character (“slick” men don’t appeal to me at all), while Larry Birkhead’s insistence on an immediate DNA test to determine the paternity of Anna Nicole’s daughter (and her custody) can be viewed as either the efforts of a dedicated and sincere father or of someone to obtain and retain custody of Anna Nicole’s only heir.
And so, while Anna Nicole may have found peace at last, and reunion with her beloved son, the legal turmoil of this young woman’s tumultuous life seems certain to continue for a great many months, if not years, to come. In the end, it’s entirely possible that only the attorneys will profit.
I pray for the future of her 5 month old daughter and hope that, whoever is determined to be her biological father, that man will give this innocent little girl a safe, secure and PRIVATE life filled with the love and tranquility that so eluded her mother during her all-too-short life.
The death yesterday of Anna Nicole Smith at the age of 39 was both shocking and almost predictable, given the astonishing turmoil of this young woman’s life.
I have read and heard some amazingly nasty comments essayed about the death of this young woman. I found them reprehensible in the extreme. This was a human being above all else, albeit her appearance and demeanor seemed almost cartoonish at times. She was an 11th grade dropout whose only currency was beauty – and that she had. She was seriously uneducated and, from all appearances, not blessed with much intelligence. But she gave life her best shot and her largest mistakes seem to have stemmed from allying herself with some questionable men. From today’s perspective, perhaps her smartest decision was her marriage to Billionaire Marshall who seemed to sincerely care about her – although not enough to make his final wishes explicit on paper!
The death of her son, in her hospital room, 3 days after the birth of her daughter seems to have been the final blow in a life that was marked by persistent striving. The death of one’s child is the cruelest blow a woman can suffer – and the newborn daughter for whom she was responsible clearly was a comfort, but in the end no substitute.
As to the two men in her life: Howard K. Stern strikes me as a somewhat murky character (“slick” men don’t appeal to me at all), while Larry Birkhead’s insistence on an immediate DNA test to determine the paternity of Anna Nicole’s daughter (and her custody) can be viewed as either the efforts of a dedicated and sincere father or of someone to obtain and retain custody of Anna Nicole’s only heir.
And so, while Anna Nicole may have found peace at last, and reunion with her beloved son, the legal turmoil of this young woman’s tumultuous life seems certain to continue for a great many months, if not years, to come. In the end, it’s entirely possible that only the attorneys will profit.
I pray for the future of her 5 month old daughter and hope that, whoever is determined to be her biological father, that man will give this innocent little girl a safe, secure and PRIVATE life filled with the love and tranquility that so eluded her mother during her all-too-short life.
UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLE UPDATE: Can this case get any more insane? Now Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband is claiming that HE is the father of Anna Nicole Smith's daughter? The man is 59 years old, is married to a 90 year old woman (gee, maybe they had more in common than you'd think) and is the same man who (with Zsa Zsa) sued the manufacturers of Viagra because it had made him "impotent without it"!
4 comments:
A very thoughtful piece on a personage I really hadn't thought much about.
My thoughts exactly. Although I didn't care very much for her, it's a very sad story and everyone deserves respect in death. The lawsuits will definitely go on forever.
I'm afraid that little girl will be doomed to be in the custody of some very selfish and irresponsible people, but I hope not.
Anna Nicole Smith has certainly left a wake in her wake... turbulence tends to do that.
Good piece, Gayle.
Andrea
Radio Patriot
I agree that this is a well written tribute.
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