I know what you’re thinking. I’m being presumptuous again claiming to speak for all of us. So spank me. You might enjoy it.
The reason I think we all cry a little inside when we hear of celebrity break-ups, and in particular the celebrities we follow, is because it reminds us of how human we all are, regardless of fame and fortune. And maybe, we all want to believe somebody out there has beat the system somehow, and learned to live happily ever after as we all believed we would when we were naive little girls.
Another reason I think it hurts when we find out about a celebrity break-up is because we feel like they are our friends, after following them in their careers and with the media. I have never met Melissa, but I feel like I know her. I’ve seen her in concert three times, watched her sing hairless after her chemo at that awards show (can’t remember which one). She was fearless and vulnerable all at once. I have never been more moved by a performance of any kind.
I also watched Tammy and Melissa be interviewed about Melissa’s fight with cancer. Tammy started crying during the interview. To my surprise at the time, I started crying too. I swear I’m not a cry baby typically, but something about the whole mortality thing gets to me when I think of how hard it is to watch the people we care about struggle for their life. It leaves you nowhere to go to hide with your feelings.
I don’t know much about Tammy, but Melissa’s lyrics in her songs are so raw and passionate that they touch me in a way that most songs never do. Melissa is a poet first and a musician secondly in my opinion. And I’m a sucker for poetry and poets. On many road trips, it was her music that kept me awake and from drifting off the road.
Intellectually I can accept Melissa’s mortality, but emotionally she may be as close as anyone has ever gotten to claiming me as their groupie. No, I don’t send her love letters or know her birthday by heart. And I’ve never joined her fan club. But just the same, I adore her and believe she has been a gift to me and many other lesbians, giving us a voice long before we enjoyed any acknowledgment in the world at large.
No worries. I am sure Melissa will not be lonely for long. It’s doubtful that Tammy will be forced to eat many meals alone either. So I guess, as usual, this blog is more about me than them, as I watch from afar and indulge myself by writing this blog.
Blah, Blah, Blah….or blog, blog, blog, perhaps.
Lesbian Wink 