Upon Anna Nicole Smith’s death, my first thought was not “Oh, that’s a shame,” or “I’m not surprised,” it was “Damn – there goes another one of ‘us.’ “
Older generations had their own train wrecks, like Marilyn. The younger generation has Britney, Lindsay, Paris. But Anna Nicole was ours. You know, us, the ones born between the Baby Boomers and the Gen Y’ers. The ones born when it was less popular to have a baby.
There are just not enough of “us,” to go around, and we cannot afford to lose “our” train wrecks. Being born in the late 60’s and 70’s means we’ve had to spend our entire lives arriving after the Baby Boomers had already sucked the life out of things. My high school had to go to 3 shifts during the 70’s. By the time we got there, things were so much more relatively peaceful, I think the teachers were just worn out.
We’re not the “greatest generation,” and we’re not the “golden boomers.” But, we had Anna Nicole as a glorious shining example of what a mess you can create out of your life if you really try hard enough. And, she’s gone. Please for the sake of humanity, will someone in their 30’s to 40’s stand up and take her place?
Allegro Con Brio 
Followed a link from , and yeah, where are our Britneys? Well, maybe we can claim Courtney Love – she’s kind of a disaster.
Ah yes, Courtney! I wonder, though if she’s really famous enough – I have heard her name mentioned in the news recently. Shall we start a petition?
The advantage Courtney has is that she comes from a long line of train wrecks. If you have time, check out this article about it: http://www.seattleweekly.com/2006-03-22/news/courtney-s-family-curse.php. I live in the Seattle area, so, of course, this is news here.
That is so true!
I’ve been trying to figure out why it upset me so much. I think you are on to something.
Glad I could help :). Her fame pretty much coincided with our graduation from college, so I think she’s emblematic for us. Remember, before she opened her mouth, and before she married the old guy, she was just the most beautiful face you’d ever seen.
I think that “before she opened her mouth” is the key.
Courtney love may be a close second, but Anna got where she got on her own and Courtney really got the attention via Kurt, so it’s not quite the same.
That MTV pre-awards-show special where Courtney barges drunkenly in to Madonna’s interview with Kurt Loder, and falls off the chair, that was pretty Anna-like.