tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post7005272074376051156..comments2023-11-02T08:09:02.234-04:00Comments on Her Bad Mother: The Princess, The Cowboy and The Narrative of FootprintsHer Bad Motherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03535958887714152413noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-17743198753074411602008-01-28T20:50:00.000-05:002008-01-28T20:50:00.000-05:00I've shed way too many tears over the last 6 days,...I've shed way too many tears over the last 6 days, or at least I thought. Yeah, he was one of my celebrity crushes. Yeah, I dug Lords of Dogtown and Brokeback Mountain. But something about my grief seemed out of proportion. <BR/><BR/>His daughter is definitely a factor. Being a celebrity gossip follower, I've seen picture after picture of her, being pushed in a stroller, or riding her father's shoulders. My youngest is about the same age as her, and I can't help but wondering what it would be like for her to just, one day, no longer have her father. It's as if a giant ache consumes me from head to toe, just the imagining.<BR/><BR/>But I think it's also something else...the seeming vitality of youth and the tenacity of death. That Mickey Rooney was up on the stage at the SAG awards while Ledger's body was being flown home to Australia was way out of the natural order of things. Young people are supposed to stay alive. <BR/><BR/>This was really lovely. Thank you for making me feel a little less strange about my own grief.Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17350861069153040567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-41793992234410630312008-01-27T22:05:00.000-05:002008-01-27T22:05:00.000-05:00The cement carving did it for me, too. I lost my ...The cement carving did it for me, too. I lost my dad at 17, and all I could think about was that this poor little girl would never remember her father, nor would she ever know him the way that I knew mine.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-78646507984742759752008-01-27T18:57:00.001-05:002008-01-27T18:57:00.001-05:00I'm sure some of the 800 people who've recently di...I'm sure some of the 800 people who've recently died in Kenya were fathers too. Who grieves for them?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-16329723412021654782008-01-27T18:57:00.000-05:002008-01-27T18:57:00.000-05:00I'm sure some of the 800 people who've recently di...I'm sure some of the 800 people who've recently died in Kenya were fathers too. Who grieves for them?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-40267173243550436422008-01-27T05:33:00.000-05:002008-01-27T05:33:00.000-05:00Your posts are reminding me so much about my own l...Your posts are reminding me so much about my own losses lately...<BR/><BR/>First the post about Whymommy, who has little kids and is fighting breast cancer, and now Heath and 2 year old Matilda who lost her daddy.<BR/><BR/>I lost my own mother from Breast Cancer when I was 2.<BR/><BR/>:( Poor Matilda.AKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14307714795962033937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-7737841272197606432008-01-26T22:49:00.000-05:002008-01-26T22:49:00.000-05:00Funny--I was in a similar phase during Diana's wed...Funny--I was in a similar phase during Diana's wedding and sobbed nonethelesss (and my academic inclination was more Lacanian, Kristevan and Freudian). There's something about the loss between child/parent that hits all of us, across culture and time. I've thought about Heath Ledger's daughter, and the child's mother-- since hearing the news. And about the actor himself. How many people lose their lives due to addiction and bad habit!! Usually the consequences hit when we're older; it's a real reminder of life's slim hold when death from self-abuse comes at such a young age. Very sad, from every angle.Minnesota Matronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16565431067927240183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-31741774352698941892008-01-26T15:28:00.000-05:002008-01-26T15:28:00.000-05:00Beautiful post HBM. Regardless of how Heath Ledger...Beautiful post HBM. Regardless of how Heath Ledger died or who he was, his death was unexpected and we were all shocked. Anyone who ever saw him in a movie was touched in some way by him. Death of someone who touches us is bound to make us sad. Since he touched so many people, the grief turns into a collective outpouring. This collective outpouring feels out of place since not everyone who dies receives the same public fanfare. But as you bring home in your post, he was someone's father (and son, and brother, and friend...), just like a million other people out there. And for that reason he is deserving of our grief, no matter how we express it.Upside Uphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06490724418327473275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-8660990322103563682008-01-26T10:03:00.000-05:002008-01-26T10:03:00.000-05:00Heartbreaking. I felt the same way about Diana by...Heartbreaking. I felt the same way about Diana by the way. I just read this story today, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/womenfamily.html?in_article_id=510308&in_page_id=1799 , it made me cry.<BR/><BR/>Sad and inspirational at the same time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-68898032306592130412008-01-26T07:36:00.000-05:002008-01-26T07:36:00.000-05:00This was so beautifully written. It is a great an...This was so beautifully written. It is a great and accurate description of why we react the way we do to these types of tragedies. And you are right, we need to be spurred on by these things to make stronger bonds with our own family and friends. Thank you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-92231360445784621602008-01-25T21:26:00.000-05:002008-01-25T21:26:00.000-05:00Beautiful post indeed! Ledger's death surprised me...Beautiful post indeed! Ledger's death surprised me a little, as much as a Hollywood death can-and thought nothing more of it. Until I heard he had a daughter...and until I remembered I had a dream about him that morning. Sounds weird, does it not? Totally true, though. It completely freaked me out when I connected it all together.Kris Underwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15054858521552867209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-16081849837266238572008-01-25T15:21:00.001-05:002008-01-25T15:21:00.001-05:00This is exactly what my friends and I were discuss...This is exactly what my friends and I were discussing at a playgroup last week. Why was Heath Ledger's death such a big deal? Well, because he has a daughter, and we all can't bear to think of such heartbreak for her in the years to come. Thanks for expressing it much more eloquently, though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-63129556248005190262008-01-25T15:21:00.000-05:002008-01-25T15:21:00.000-05:00Beautiful.I remember reading article after article...Beautiful.<BR/><BR/>I remember reading article after article when Princess Diana died. One sentence that hit me squarely in trying to figure out why this woman was gaining so much attention in her death was in printed in Life Magazine. The article ended by saying, "Why all the tears? Is it because no one feels safe the day a princess dies?"<BR/><BR/>It's an opportunity not only to mourn for their losses, but also for our own. Maybe, mostly, the loss of some hope that someday, all suffering on earth will be ended. But everyone will be affected by loss - even princesses. And now here is our time to mourn that loss all together at one time.josetteplank.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16790825543155685363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-88582277489571403022008-01-25T14:06:00.000-05:002008-01-25T14:06:00.000-05:00That was lovely.I'm going to make more lasting lov...That was lovely.<BR/><BR/>I'm going to make more lasting love notes to my kids.Sarah, Goon Squad Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18245659086215969972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-61843110208691864462008-01-25T13:17:00.000-05:002008-01-25T13:17:00.000-05:00What a beautiful post...and yes, that's what has g...What a beautiful post...and yes, that's what has gotten me about his Ledger's death as well...the loss to his daughter and to Michelle Williams. They were one of the very few tabloid couples I liked to see, if only because they looked so normal and so obviously in love with each other and with their baby.<BR/><BR/>And the fact that their daughter is only a little older than my Madam, and I can feel the loss so sharply. If there is anything left of him--I believe in the soul--I am sure he is aching for his little girl.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-57328804871141426582008-01-25T13:07:00.000-05:002008-01-25T13:07:00.000-05:00Hard post to read. But well said, my friend. Well ...Hard post to read. But well said, my friend. Well said.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-42808788647129713032008-01-25T12:09:00.000-05:002008-01-25T12:09:00.000-05:00so well put and I couldn't agree more.I'm so glad ...so well put and I couldn't agree more.<BR/><BR/>I'm so glad that we carved lulu's initials on the sidewalk in front of our house when she was first born.<BR/>lucky for us they were replacing the sidewalks the day she came home from the hospital.<BR/>nice to have reminders about all the special things in our lives.petite gourmandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14390555269928625967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-72648225556195949622008-01-25T11:39:00.000-05:002008-01-25T11:39:00.000-05:00My mind is replaying that scene now over and over ...My mind is replaying that scene now over and over again - and all these years later, I can still feel the lump rise up in my throat as you describe it.Miss Britthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12934134485175970612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-30074308202882207262008-01-25T10:35:00.000-05:002008-01-25T10:35:00.000-05:00Beautiful Post. Just awesome.Beautiful Post. Just awesome.Phoenixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10780589302319316351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-4284432874802129712008-01-25T09:01:00.000-05:002008-01-25T09:01:00.000-05:00It is so sad indeed. I didn't even hear the whole...It is so sad indeed. I didn't even hear the whole story but these footprints...so sweet. We imprinted our names into the new sidewalk on the side of our house but then my daughter came along a year later so now we need to think of another special place to memorialize our family.NH Yocalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04706404613228845440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-90451944822238190132008-01-25T06:13:00.000-05:002008-01-25T06:13:00.000-05:00I think that is the strangest thing about anyone's...I think that is the strangest thing about anyone's death who is not someone you are close to--that it matters so much but then in a way it does not, from the distance you speak of. And that we can look at some deaths both ways. But never the deaths of those we love. <BR/><BR/>Maybe that is the funny thing about celebrity--that it makes a person extraordinary and it's the same trick in a way because everyone is extraordinary but also ordinary. But it's only when we think of the celebrity as ordinary that we actually care about their death.<BR/><BR/>And it is sad we can't keep anything in concrete. I have my name and my siblings' name in concrete outside our house and those little handprints don't fit us anymore but sometime they will all be gone.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-87180627863495597852008-01-25T00:30:00.000-05:002008-01-25T00:30:00.000-05:00I feel so horrible for her.I feel so horrible for her.flutterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11828689769747130419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-556342940018771932008-01-24T23:38:00.000-05:002008-01-24T23:38:00.000-05:00Absolutely beautiful, HBM. Your last line is choki...Absolutely beautiful, HBM. Your last line is choking me up. <BR/><BR/>And I too got emotional with that photo. It's not too far from our place in Brooklyn. I'm sure it's a big disgusting gawking zone by now.Mom101https://www.blogger.com/profile/15468524489744839899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-67300611988705828012008-01-24T22:51:00.000-05:002008-01-24T22:51:00.000-05:00I had exactly the same moment you did in watching ...I had exactly the same moment you did in watching the Princess Di funeral -- that "Mummy" card image is seared in my mind. And reading this post, all I could think was "yeah--what she said." Thanks so much for being so articulate in reminding us all about how our deepest hugs of our own should also remind us of those who don't have such a luxury with their own children.MommyTimehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12860003098383600806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-24872505127095895142008-01-24T19:24:00.001-05:002008-01-24T19:24:00.001-05:00Even before I scrolled down to read what made you ...Even before I scrolled down to read what made you cry at Diana's death, I flashed on that white card atop the flowers that said "Mummy." That was, for me, one of the most unforgettably poignant and sad moments I can recall.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21558474.post-15030969523505146532008-01-24T19:24:00.000-05:002008-01-24T19:24:00.000-05:00so much of it is "what could have been."makes you ...so much of it is "what could have been."<BR/><BR/>makes you want to sit up all night and write and write and write those memories, if only our kids have them. <BR/><BR/>A piece of us.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com