of angels and disco

One of the joys of Facebook is connecting with my extended family, and with everyone commenting on the deaths of MJ and Farrah yesterday, I was happy my cousin Lynn reminded me of our own special Charlie's Angels memory.

My cousins Carin and Lynn were like sisters to me growing up; although we only saw each other several times a year, they filled the void my brothers could not.  Make-overs, girl talk, dance moves, and of course pretending we were Charlie's Angels.

Lynn reminded me of our skit (one of many) in my grandma's basement; the three of us in the opening Angel pose, with cousin Craig behind us with a lighter.  I have this photo of us in my desk drawer, from the 80's in Port A, striking another familiar Angel pose of running on the beach.  

No, we didn't have on string bikinis, but our hearts were solid Angel gold.  Lynn (on right), as I remember was Kate, I got to be Farrah because of my blue eyes (and earlier attempts at feathered hair), and Carin (on left) was of course the beautiful Jacquelyn.  I think her running pose was the best - it really looks like she's on mission.  I was trying not to cut my foot on oyster shells.

Later in the 90's I was still attempting Farrah's glorious mane, but was frustrated it looked more like Amy Grant's country hair. This is a favorite early photo of Blonde FunkNation and I.  It was a Christmas Eve at my parents house; we are snacking off a TV tray and I had just received this book, "Friend of the Lonely Heart" as a gift from my mother.  I don't think Farrah probably got books like that, but she did employ the lip liner as I did.

As I write this, I can't stop hearing Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" in my head.  As a lover of music and dance, you just can't not dance when you hear his music.  Not everyone has that gift.  There will never be anyone like him.  

Like millions of others, I watched the various news shows about his death.  I told my boys Michael Jackson had died and Syd said, "What? Michael Jackson the basketball player?"  No, I told him, that's Michael Jordan.  Michael Jackson is one of the great talents of our time, I said. "Of your time, you mean," said Syd.  It really hit home how this generation does live in a new era, how Coldplay and Justin Timberlake are relevant, but Michael Jackson, not so much.  I'll be downloading some MJ this afternoon.  His life was possibly a really sad one, but his gift of songwriting and expression truly from God and worth celebrating.

After watching the news for 30 minutes, and being creeped out by his plastic surgery, Ben said "Wait - you mean he's dead?"  Ben has always been on his own timeline.  "But he's still walking around," he said, watching as they played the clip of rail thin MJ in scrubs under an umbrella for the umpteenth time.   "It's the magic of television, just like Mister Rogers," I say.  "Oh, yeah," he says.

I want my boys to understand how God gives gifts, and how we use them is up to us.  It's a one-dimensional world to limit yourself as a Christian to what you find in the Family Christian Books as far as writing and music and drama, although you will find some amazing talent.  I want my boys to trust their God-filled hearts and spirits, and see already how they reject the music, the books, the movies that leave you wanting.  They know there is more and that it can only be found in Jesus.  Make no mistake, there is a war on for this generation.  Go into any bookstore and look at what is being sold as modern fiction to middle school kids.  But that's another story...