It had to be late 1988 or 1989 that I was introduced to singing. We would be in the living room, I'd be in the window watching people walk by, thinking to myself this women is amazing. I was talking about my mother. She would clean the house singing Whitney Houston. "How will I know" was a popular one. I would hear the rewind of the tape in the stereo, over & over. My mother hitting every note perfectly or so I thought. This women on the tape was just an awesome singer. The beauty that her voice rang out that high. I remember the smells & feeling in the air when my mother would sing. "I wanna dance with somebody" was another of my mother's favorite. She would sing this while dancing (her 80's dance of course) around the house. I didn't try to know the lyrics just listen & waiting for the next song to play. One of the first "adult" movies I was allowed to watch was "The Bodyguard." I would watch that movie alone or with my sister over & over again. I never grew tired. I don't know if it was the plot or the little boy in the movie that I loved so much. I loved the part of the movie in her dressing room where she is reading through all the fan mail. The suspense of who her stalker was. I was so young how could I possibly know anything about this stuff? I guess I was mature of my age.
February 11, 2012 I was watching "Breaking Dawn" & a friend tweeted my phone saying Whitney Houston passed away. Immediately I grab my laptop & checked CNN, Mediatakeout, TMZ, & Necolebitchie. Sure enough it was buzzing that Ms. Whitney had passed. I saw a few tweets that it was false per her publicist. I checked every website I could think of to get confirmation before I cried. I called my mother to break this devastating news to her. She was appalled & didn't believe me at first. I double, tripled, & quadruple checked. Ms. Whitney had in fact passed away. I sat & watched CNN as they broke the news that she passed away. She passed away in a hotel room where she was suppose to perform the next night at the Grammy's. So many speculated how & why she died! I was more upset at the fact that the news & twitter where saying she was drugged up & drunk. We don't know! That's the true facts we can't speculate what happened.
A mother, daughter, sister, aunt, & daughter of God had passed away. An amazing singer who brought us a gift nobody will ever replace! She was gone just gone. She was only 48 & was just dead.
February 18, 2012 CNN & other media broad casted Whitney's funeral live. I watched as the brought the casket in the church until they walked her out back into the hearse. Leading up to the funeral I saw a few military posts by people who said something along the lines of
"Yes, this is another military personnel hating on the hype of Whitney Houston's death and here is why.
Today I saluted the American flagged covered casket of a World War II veteran. This WWII vet lived a full life with his family regardless of the shit that he has seen in war. How did I know he lived a full life when I didn't even know him? Because the emotions and tears that his family showed was real. Their mourning, their grief, their sadness, it was all REAL. It was real, unlike the fake statuses and media coverage you've seen mourning Whitney Houston.
So why does Whitney Houston get the honor of having the American flag lowered at half-staff when this WWII veteran didn't? For those of you who don't know what it means to have the flag lowered to half-staff, it is lowered to make room for the invisible flag of death flying at the top mast. It is done out of respect for someone who died for a greater cause.
I don't know what Whitney Houston has done during her life and I'm not going to be ignorant about it. But last time I checked, her voice didn't storm the beach of Normandy, her voice didn't liberate the people in the concentration camps, and her voice certainly did NOT raise the AMERICAN FLAG up on Iwo Jima.
Media says Whitney Houston died in a bathtub surrounded by bottles of pills. Well this doesn't sound like an honorable death to me. To me, it sounds like a coward's way out.
Gov. Christie said,
“She was a cultural icon for the state and her accomplishments in life were a source of great pride to many people in the state and for the state as a whole. On that basis, I think she’s entitled to that recognition.‘’
Well let me ask you this Gov. Christie... Do you think that the WWII veteran who was buried today deserved the same recognition?
- This We'll Defend
- Semper Fidelis"
Yea ok! So here is my side to what I think.........I am a military wife, who knows exactly what it feels like to have my husband leave me & he may never come home. I also know life should not be taken that seriously. Come on people seriously? Your mad because a "well" known celebrities funeral is being televised? Your so upset you have to resort to bringing our service men into it?
These women/men join the military (my husband included) knowing what they are doing & what can happen. They know it's not a surprise. I am not saying that losing a loved one is not sad & I would be devastated if I lost my husband (God forbid) but to get all worked up about a flag at half mass & them televsing her funeral is ridiculous. The news already gets flac about only showing bad things & things that bring us down & stress us but you want them to show ever service men/women who died as well? To remind their families what happened & their loss? Those are private funerals for a reason! Those men/women aren't putting their life out there for people to see or watch 24/7 they aren't entertainers. It upsets me because we have taken life so seriously these days. We can't relax & just enjoy the simple things.
On to other things......Whitney's funeral was so touching. I felt it wasn't celebrating a celebrity but a beautiful women who was well loved & close with God. The sermon given by Pastor Winan's was amazing. I was in tears after the funeral. I felt as if I was there in the church with these amazing people. The word touched me & hit close to home. It made me think of my aunt who recently passed & my sisters ex boyfriend who also lost his life to soon. It's sad when people die before their "expected" time.
I loved Whitney I may have never met her, known her in person, or even talked to her before but she touched my life with her voice. That voice God gave her to use to touch so many other lives. She is now singing in the choir of God & those angels must be so proud to her here.
As they started playing "I will always love you" I bawled & bawled some more. Seeing Ray J. break down over the casket like that killed me. When we lose someone we love it takes a piece of us we can never get back until we see them again. Death is a scary thing to endure. It can take you to places you never want to be.
With that being said I hope you all have a great week & an amazing Sunday.
RIP Whitney Elizabeth Houston
We will always remember your music & success.
"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?"
Matthew 6:25
All opinions are my own I apologize if you don't agree:)
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