"http://www.prodigalsonmagazine.com/free/news40small.gif" width=
"241" height="68" align="left" style=
"padding-right:6px;">NEWS :: GLEANING THROUGH FALLEN
GLITTER
What good is gleaned from a life so tragically lived and lost as
that of Anna Nichole Smith? The riveted eye of the 24/7-news cycle
is unfolding layer upon layer of confusion, conflict, loss and
greed.
"http://www.prodigalsonmagazine.com/free/news40.gif" width="530"
height="147"> What good is gleaned from a life so tragically lived
and lost as that of Anna Nichole Smith? The riveted eye of the
24/7-news cycle is unfolding layer upon layer of confusion,
conflict, loss and greed. At the center of it all one life lived by
an unusually pretty girl from small town America who wanted, had
and lost it all. Or so it appears if we only observe the processed
contrivances of image, acclaim and success. There is a deeper story
here than most will uncover, a story of enablement, consequence and
self-destruction that spreads beyond one life and one death. Many
will either reject, revile or fain lamentation of the waste and on
going circus while drawn towards it’s guilty pleasures. Others will
point to the ugly impact on all that were touched by a fast flaming
life of excess. Few will view Anna’s life with true compassion and
empathy. Most will miss or dismiss that her weaknesses and
vulnerabilities are indeed our very own, created and found closely
around us all. There is one thread that flows through all the
twists and turns of this tainted tale. An enabling presence, Or
better said, an enabling absence. It is in fact at the heart of the
questions heard on airwaves around the world. What permeates all
the wounds, woes and wondering? Questions about a father’s rights,
place, input and identity. I do not refer simply to the paternity
of young unaware Danny Lynn. Her plight is only part of a line of
fatherless ness that seems to have sent Vicky Lynn Hogan on a star
bright metamorphosis from small town girl looking for love, fame
and affection into the siren seductress of a generation Anna
Nicole. Even with a committed, determined and loving mother Anna
Nichole had a fatal hole in her heart. Not an anomaly of birth as
was alluded to in the autopsy of her son though he inherited the
same spiritual injury as his mother. Her impairment was an
implanted vampiric vacuum of belonging, identity and self-worth.
For many similarly marked young girls amongst us as in Anna
Nichole’s case a self-destructive nature emerged. Behaviors such as
promiscuity fueled by the search for a steady, secure male
presence; self-medication and addictive disorders driven by the
pain and anger of such a formative loss and rejection amongst other
sad emotional emaciations took a heartrending toll. Not in success,
riches, drugs, praise nor the arms of the wealthy or powerful could
Anna Nichole purge the demon driving her towards the devastation of
her life and the lives around her. The truly vampiric nature of her
malady simply reproduced leaving generations infected and
aggrieved. Sadly climaxing with her son dead at the foot of her bed
as she clutched his newborn sister. For at this point one might
argue, she may have truly died. Simply scan the news around us. It
is replete with tales of little girls lost. Nichole Ritchie,
Brittany Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton all chocking on the
thorny hollow fruits of success. Yet how many daughters, nieces,
sisters and friends are similarly sinking without the spotlight of
celebrity. Draining away with nearly no notice taken at all. Where
dare we ask, as fathers, uncles, brothers and friends have we
failed them. As if our gender shields us from the same wounds and
slow destruction. What signs have we ignored, responsibilities
shrugged, excuses enabled and opportunities to impact and redirect
have we simply dozed through. Ease of divorce in several
generations never tried by lack or want has birthed a self-centered
hedonism bent on “my needs?. Cleaver counselors of mental health
and the law have effected self-serving rationalizations around a
supposed “children’s best interest?. Facilitating a society where
the single, blended and step now out number the traditional and
programs of social welfare serve to preserve the damage. Sadly we
in the church show no better record as our divorce rate is
statistically the same or higher. Where in this then is the hope?
The hope lies in what is imparted to the little heart of Danny Lynn
and every child we bare. The hope lies in embracing the individual
responsibilities and relationships, especially as fathers, that we
seek and purpose to found. Even in our relationship with God
Himself we must devalue the institutions and labels, lay down the
self-serving traditions and Sunday charades and make it personal,
renewing, restorative and real. Much could be impacted back through
the voyeurism that surrounds Danny Lynn should she find her way
into a nurturing home with loving parents and especially a loving
father. We need not make our own hope and healing vicarious
however. Anna Nichole’s fall stands as testimony to the weakness
and futility of image, acclaim and success to deliver healing,
wholeness and love. The vacuum that claimed her will only be filled
by those who willingly put others needs before their own and it all
starts at arms reach at home. Self-fulfillment is only a crafty
facade that makes it impossible to be there for those that need us
and leaves hope and potential unfulfilled. How much hope can one
really find in a life lived to love and nurture others? I cannot
fully say outside of the example of Christ, personal faith and the
effort to be purposefully present for my family. I know however
that the fulfillment thing aside from myself is growing as sure as
the kids are. How much hope does one child deserve? Only as much as
we stick around to give them. Anna Nicole’s life and fading image
reminds us of the consequence of turning away. To glean just this
much might save scores upon scores of Vicky Lynn Hogans. Byline:
Mr. Poff is freelance writer and at home father of quadruplets plus
three. He is perpetually working on his masters in theology is his
abundant spare time
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