Coming Clean

With the 37-hours a day reporting on the death of Anna Nicole Smith, I feel like I wouldn't be remiss in not adding my $0.02.

I liked Anna Nicole Smith. I thought she was funny when she was intentionally funny. I thought she was a tragic person, especially in the pain that she experienced. I don't think she was a slut, an idiot, a whore, a golddigger, or a bad person. I think she was naive. I think she was innocent. And I think she was a victim.

She was a victim of her own demons -- bad decisions, drugs, body issues, media scrutiny. She was a victim of her enemies -- her stepson, America. She was a victim of her "loved ones" -- Howard K. Stern, her family, her boyfriends and exes.

I think, on some level, I can relate to her.

Her life seemed to have been very balanced in that with every blessing came heartache. I am apprehensive when good things happen, always waiting for the other shoe to drop. While certainly not on her scale, my life ebbs and flows just like hers. Yours probably does, too.

I hate our celebrity culture in which CNN and Fox News spend hours upon hours reporting the death of a former stripper. I hate a culture in which she could make headlines by being more and more "outrageous." I hate a culture that celebrates large breasts and simple minds. But I don't hate Anna Nicole Smith.

She lived her life and made people laugh -- whether unintentionally or not. I think she was smarter than most will ever give her credit for, but it doesn't matter. She was a person, with a heart and feelings. She loved. Without a doubt, there were those who loved her.

So, please, stop it with the "golddigger" clips, the stripper pole stock footage, the countless interviews with frightenly slurred speech. Stop sending me unsolicited emails like this one:

Subject: Sell that Trimspa Stock...

For our Grand Parents.....It was Pearl Harbor
For our Parents......it was the assassination of JFK

For Our Generation......We will always remember where we were when we got the 17 text messages making fun on Anna Nicole's kidneys finally telling her "Screw You, Guys...I'm Going Home"

For those interested, there is a memorial in front of the Krispy Kreme for those who wish to light a candle, lay flowers, or get a dozen glazed in her honor.

We Miss You, Anna......As well as do the makers of Vicodin, OxyContin, Lortab, Percocet, Dilaudid, Fentanyl, Darvocet, Valium, Ativan, Roxycodone, and Morphine.

She was a human being -- no matter whether you approved of her life or not. Those who celebrate and mock the death of another, only wish it upon themselves. Make light of and judge another person as you will. But keep it away from me. She was a person who lived and loved and laughed and cried. And she made my life just a little richer. In her passing, all I have is to acknowledge that, smile, and move on.